

*i 






<r/~/. lj>/r A.L3..Q 




UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 












ST. PETER'S CHAIN 



OF 



Christian Wxxtntz. 



REV. C. D. OLIVER, 

OF THE ALABAMA CONFERENCE OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 
80UTH. 



EDITED BY THOMAS 0. SUMMERS, D.D. 

n 



Nasfjbt'IU, fSinn.: 
PUBLISHED BY E. STEVENSON & F. A. OWEN, AGENTS, 

FOR Tns METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, BOOTH. 

1857. 



13 V^ fc3 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

STEVENSON & OWEN, Agents, 

In the Office of the Clerk of the District Court for the Middle District of 

Tennessee. 



STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY A. A. STITT, 
SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, NASHVILLE, TENN. 



Situation. 



THE REV. M'CARTT OLIVER AND SUSANNAH OUTER. 

To you I dedicate this book, in testimony of my filial 
affection ; for to you, above all others, I feel under God 
indebted for the religious bias of my mind, and for what 
usefulness may have attended my life. 

God has graciously extended your probation to over 
threescore years and ten, through far the greater part 
of which you have been a blessing to your children and 
to the world, having by your example in the sight of 
both exemplified the excellency and power of the Chris- 
tian religion. That example, with the accompanying 
pious instruction, has been to me more precious than 
.-liver or gold, for it has restrained my feet from going 
into many a forbidden path, and stimulated my mind 
to the pursuit of noble ends. I shall feel myself very 
grateful to God should this book contribute in some 
way to comfort you in your declining years, by encou- 
raging your faith in Him, and by enabling you more 
steadily to contemplate that better and brighter world 
to which you are travelling. May it please our Hea- 
venly Father through riches of grace in Christ to bring 
you and your children safely there, is the prayer of 
your obedient and affectionate son, * 

C. D. OLIVER. 

April 2d, 1856. 

(iii) 



& a \x \ t n 1 5 . 



PAQB 
DEDICATION iti 

duction vii 

CHAPTER I. 

FAITH. 

Christ crucified, the object of justifying faith — The change which 
it works in one's life — The old atheist — Faith opens to the soul 
enjoyments corresponding to its limitless desires — Faith's pos- 
sessions — Practical effects of faith, as exhibited in the lives of 
some of the ancient -worthies — What the gospel requires — The 
faith of the Rev. John Wesley — Address to the reader — Poetry. 9 

CHAPTER II. 

VIRTUE. 

The meaning of the "word — The difficulty of entering upon a 
Christian life — Our Saviour's encouragement to his disciples — 
Examples of this courage in Elijah, Nathan, the Hebrew chil- 
dren, John the Baptist, Peter, John, Paul, and Luther — The 
young lady — True heroes 37 

CfflAPTER III. 

KNOWLEDGE. 

The papal doctrine, " Ignorance is the mother of devotion" — What 
this knowledgo is which we are to seek — Obtained by studying 
the character of Christ, and the Holy Scriptures— Christ says, 
•'Thy word it truth" — Nature of that truth — Remarks of Lord 
Brougham on the plexsurea of science — Chalmers, Brewster, and 

n 5$ 

1* (V) 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

TEMPERANCE. 
The subject considered in various lights — The remark of Lord By- 
ron. "Habit is destiny" — Contrast of good and bad men 70 

CHAPTER V. 

PATIENCE. 
The great importance of patience to Christ's disciples in stem- 
ming the opposition they have to meet — Causes of impatience — 
Several encouragements to patience considered — The poor Chris- 
tian with lockjaw 100 

CHAPTER VI. 

GODLINESS. 
What it is not — Baptismal regeneration — What godliness is — Evi- 
dences of increasing godliness — Evils of the theatre, novels, 
ball-room — The profitableness of godliness — Living nearer to 
God, etc 123 

CHAPTER VII. 
BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 
The scriptural view of this subject — Brotherly love overflows 
party boundaries — The primitive Christians — Paul's illustration 
of Christian unity — A living Church 148 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CHARITY. 

The extent of this charity — Comment upon a part of 1 Corinthians 

xiii. — Quesnel quoted — Sir Isaac Newton — The widow of Muckle 

Harbor — What charity has done, and may accomplish — Bright 

visions of the Church 172 

CHAPTER IX. 

CONCLUSION. 

The conditions of an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our 

Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — The character of this kingdom 

dwelt upon at large — Concluding address to the reader — The 

pilgrim 194 



Itttrohutiflit. 



The author of the following treatise is an esti- 
mable minister in the Alabama Conference of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He write3 
in a plain, easy, unambitious style — the edifica- 
tion of the reader being his great design. 

The scriptural nucleus of his essay is well 
chosen. St. Peter's chain of Christian virtues 
has always been greatly admired; and much use 
has been made of it in the teachings of the pulpit 
and the religious press. The elements of Chris- 
tian character are brought to view in a striking 
light, as so many qualities in a compound, every 
one being needed to give character and efficiency 
to all the rest. Thus there can^be no faith — 
saving in its influence — unless virtue, or courage, 
be united with it; and neither faith nor courage 

(Yii) 



V1U INTRODUCTION. 

can be genuine or available, unless blended with 
knowledge ; and so of all the rest. The language 
of the apostle does not imply that these virtues 
are brought into being at successive stages in the 
Christian life. They are all implanted in the 
heart in the moment of regeneration, and none 
has precedence of the other, except faith, which 
is the instrument as well as the effect of that 
great change. But their existence as elementary 
principles is one thing : their practical develop- 
ment is another; and it is to this we are exhorted 
by the apostle. 

The manner in which this is to be done, and 
the importance of doing it, constitute the material 
of this edifying treatise. 

®t)£ ®bitor. 

Nashville, Tenn., August 22, 1856. 



St. fdtr's ft || si it 



CHRISTIAN VIRTUES. 



CHAPTER I. 

FAITH. 

Christ crucified, the object of justifying faith — The change which 
it works in one's life — The old atheist — Faith opens to the soul 
enjoyments corresponding to its limitless desires — Faith's pos- 
sessions — Practical effects of faith, as exhibited in the lives of 
some of the ancient worthies — What the gospel requires — The 
faith of the Rev. John Wesley — Address to the reader — Poetry. 

Reader, have you faith in our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ? Without this you cannot 
be renewed in heart and justified in the sight of 
God. Christ crucified is the object of faith: it 
looks upon him and claims an interest in his 

(0) 



10 ST. PET ER/S CHAIN. 

blood. Its language is, "For rne the Saviour 
died." Faith beholds a world "lying in wick- 
edness/' helpless and ruined; but it sees the Son 
of God clothed in humanity, descending into 
this wicked world, looking with pity upon its lost 
condition, and then giving himself to suffering 
and death, to redeem it from the curse of a vio- 
lated law, and to bring it back to God. It fixes 
its gaze upon Christ, as he hangs suspended upon 
the cross, bleeding under the hand of justice, 
and yielding himself up as an atoning sacrifice 
for the sins of mankind. It lays hold upon him 
as the only refuge, and realizes that there is 
"redemption through his blood, even the for- 
giveness of sins." Christ crucified, then, is the 
object of faith : " Whom God hath set forth to be 
a propitiation through faith in his blood." He 
who exercises this saving faith becomes a child 
of God and receives the spirit of adoption, 
whereby he can cry, "Abba, Father." The 
kingdom of Christ is set up in his soul, and he 
becomes an obedient subject of his government, 
ready to know and to do his holy will. His Ian- 



FAITn. 11 

ffoa^e i ; . " Lord, what wilt thou have me to 

u Let me prove my love to thee by my 

16 to thy holy commands." 

rv truly converted person exemplifies the 

truth of the apostle's words, " If any man be in 

Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are 

passed away : behold, all things are become new." 

New and holy thoughts fill his mind, and new 

peace, joy, and purposes occupy his heart, and a 

new and better work engages his hands. The 

life of faith, in contrast to a life of sight and 

sense, is strikingly exhibited in " The Philosophy 

of the Plan of Salvation," in the history of an 

old man. The author remarks : 

" I knew that there were those in the world 
who professed to doubt the existence of a God ; 
but I had met with no one, in all my intercourse 
with mankind, who seemed so sincerely and so 
entirely an atheist as the individual whose case is 
now introduced. The first time that I saw him 
was at the house of his son-in-law, a gentleman 
of intelligence and piety. His appearance was 
that of a decrepit, disconsolate old man. In the 



12 st. peter's chain. 

course of conversation, he unhesitatingly ex- 
pressed his unbelief of the existence of a God, 
and his suspicion of the motives of most of those 
who professed religion. I learned from others 
that he had ceased in some measure to have 
intercourse with men : had become misanthropic 
in his feelings, regarding mankind in the light 
of a family of sharks, preying upon each other; 
and his own duty in such a state of things he 
supposed to be, to make all honest endeavors to 
wrest from the grasp of others as much as he 
could. He used profane language, opposed the 
temperance reformation, and looked with the 
deepest hatred upon the ministers of religion. 
His social affections seemed to be withered, and 
his body, sympathizing, was distorted and dis- 
eased by rheumatic pains. . . This old man 
had been for many years the subject of special 
prayer on the part of his pious daughter and 
son-in-law; and was finally persuaded to attend 
a season of religious worship in the church of 
which they were members. Here, wonderful to 
relate, this aged opposer was converted — passing ' 



FAITH. UJ 

from the parched and desolate region of atheism 
into the refreshing and verdant region of Chris- 
tianity, lie became a most simple and implicit 
believer, and was like one who had just waked 
up in another world, the sensations of which 
were all new to him; and although a man of 
sound sense in business affairs, when he began to 
express his religious ideas, his language seemed 
strange and incongruous, from the fact that while 
his soul was now filled with new thoughts and 
feelings, he had no knowledge of the language 
by which such thoughts are expressed. 
One of the first things which he did was to love, 
in a practical manner, his worst enemy. There 
was a man in the village who he supposed had 
dealt treacherously with him in some money 
transactions which had occurred between them. 
On this account, personal enmity had long existed 
between the two individuals. When converted, 
he sought his old enemy, asked his forgiveness, 
and endeavored to benefit him by bringing him 
under the influence of the gospel. 

" His benevolent feelings were expanded. He 
2 



14 st. peter's chain. 

gives liberally to every cause which he thinks 
will honor Christ. During the last year, he has 
given more with the design of benefiting his 
fellow-men than he had done in his whole life 
before. His affections received new life. ( One 
part of the Scriptures/ said he, c I feel to be 
true : that which says, I will take away the hard 
and stony heart, and give you a heart of flesh. 
Once I seemed to have no feeling : now, thank 
God, I can feel. I have buried two wives and 
six children, but I never shed a tear. I felt 
hard and unhappy. Now my tears flow at the 
recollection of these things.' It is remarked of 
him, that it is not probable, since his conversion, 
that a single week has passed without his shed- 
ding tears : before, he had not wept since the 
age of manhood. 

"The effect upon his life has been very great. 
He has not ceased to do good as he has had op- 
portunity. Several have been brought to Christ 
through his instrumentality. He has been known 
to go to several families on the same day, pray 
with them, and invite them to attend religious 



FAITn. 15 

worship on the Sabbath. lie has been known to 
aid the poor in purchasing articles of dress, to 
induce them to go to Divine service. Soon after 
conversion, he made out a list of his old 
iiates then living within reach of his influ- 
ence. On this list were one hundred and sixteen 
names, among whom were skeptics, drunkards, 
and other individuals, as little likely to be 
reached by Christian influence as any other men 
in the region. Within two years from the period 
of the old man's conversion, one hundred of 
these persons had made a profession of religion. 
This fact is one of the most remarkable that has 
been developed in the progress of Christianity. 
The effect of the old man's conversion upon his 
happiness was indescribable. 'I have/ says he, 
1 rejoiced but once since I trusted in Christ : 
that has been all the time/ The moral change 
he underwent extended a benign influence over 
his body. His countenance assumed a milder 
and more intelligent aspect: he .became more 
tidy in his apparel; and his ' thousand pains/ 
in a good measure, left him. In his case there 



16 st. peter's chain. 

seemed to be a renovation both of soul and 
body. 

"This case/' continues the same authority, 
"is not exaggerated. The old man is living, 
and there are a thousand living witnesses to this 
testimony, among whom is an intelligent physi- 
cian, who heard the old man's history of his 
feelings, and having known him personally for 
years, the obvious effects which the faith in 
Christ had produced in his case, combined 
with other influences by which he was sur- 
rounded, led him seriously to examine the sub- 
ject of religion, as it concerned his own spiritual 
interest. By this examination he was led to 
relinquish the system of rational religion, (as the 
Socinian system is called by its adherents,) and 
profess his faith in the orthodox religion." 

This narrative, though somewhat extended, so 
clearly exhibits the influence of faith in Christ, 
that we will doubtless be excused for introducing 
it. Here all old things were done away, and all 
things became new. Here are the practical evi- 
dences of Christianity, from which the infidel 






FAITH. 17 

may turn away, but which he cannot ridicule or 
deny. Faith, which proves itself by its works, 
in this case strikingly displayed. This is 
the faith that all true Christians possess, and 
it is upon this they are called to build their 
spiritual hopes and graces. If there is no faith, 
there is no piety: no " ceasing to do evil and 
learning to do well:" no pleasing God, for "with- 
out faith it is impossible to please him." Faith, 
then, is very properly made to lead in the train 
of Christian graces. The soul's renewal and 
rejoicing begins with faith — faith in Christ. It 
keeps Christ in view amidst all its trials and 
sojournings here, as its " author and finisher." 
Faith hears the voice of Christ speaking to the 
soul in its trouble, and bidding it be still. Faith 
is the eunuch searching for Christ in the prophe- 
cies — the publican crying in the temple, " God 
be merciful to me a sinner !" — the jailer listening 
at midnight to the teachings of Paul and Silas — 
Bartimeus crying by the wayside, " Jesus, thou 
Son of David, have mercy on me !" Faith is the 
Syrophenician woman pleading with the Saviour 
2* 



18 st. peter's chain. 

in behalf of her daughter — the prodigal come to 
himself and returning to his father's house — the 
dying thief upon the cross, crying, " Lord, re- 
member me when thou comest into thy king- 
dom I" Faith brings us to Christ and puts us at 
peace with God. " Therefore, being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ/' ' It is not only by faith we are 
united to Christ, but it is by faith we are enabled 
to maintain our union with him. Faith draws 
its life from Christ, and sings, with the poet, 

" Of life thou art the tree, 
My immortality: 
Feed this tender branch of thine, 

Ceaseless influence derive ; 
Thou the true and heavenly vine, 

Grafted into thee I live." 

Christ is the vine through which the spiritual 
Bap is diffused through the branches, causing 
them to grow and flourish, and to bear fruit. 
" We walk by faith, not by sight." Those who 
walk by faith have their treasures in heaveu, 
and of consequence their affections there. " For 



FAIT II. 19 

where your treasure is, there will your heart be 
also." All who live in reference to this world, 
without a recognition of the future, are those 
who walk by sight. Their plans and devices 
>haped by terrestrial circumstances. Their 
thoughts, if they should chance to stray beyond 
the boundaries of time, are put under arrest 
and brought back, to be confined by the chains 
of sense. 

The man of faith, on the contrary, sends his 
thoughts heavenward, and fixes his affections 
there, and calls it his home, and expects in that 
home to abide for ever. His spiritual nature pre- 
dominating over his sensuous or animal, he it- 
raised above earthly objects, and delights to con- 
template the scenes of a future and purer exist- 
ence. We do not say that such have no commu- 
nication with the world. For, as physical and 
intellectual beings, we have certain relations to 
objects surrounding us, and with these we com- 
municate with our earthly senses. But, as moral 
beings, our relations are entirely of a different 
nature; and the facts and motives which are 



20 st. peter's chain. 

calculated to act upon us in these relations are 
chiefly the objects of faith; that is, they are not 
cognizable by any of our senses, but are to be 
received by a different part of our constitution. 
This, accordingly, is the simple but important 
distinction referred to by the sacred writer when, 
in allusion to our condition as moral beings, he 
says, "We walk by faith, not by sight. " Those 
who walk thus live in reliance upon God, claim 
him as their Father, and seek to conform their 
lives to his holy word. They realize the truth 
that " the things which are seen are temporal, 
but the things which are not seen are eternal/' 
All here they look upon as shadow, all beyond 
as substance. 

One of the great benefits of faith is, that it 
opens up before the soul enjoyments correspond- 
ing to its limitless desires. One of the chief 
causes of our unhappiness grows out of the 
unsubstantial and transitory nature of the ob- 
jects by which we are surrounded. Every thing 
earthly is changing and disappearing, so that we 
and our earthly joys are "ever separating. But 



FAITH. II 

even it* no separations should ever take place, the 

materiality of their nature must of necessity 

them to our spiritual constitution as enipti- 

and nothing. They can never become a 

of our inner being : they may gratify our 

senses, but never our immortal nature. Nothing 

but faith iu God, by which the Holy Ghost is 

brought in purifying and tranquillizing power 

into the soul, can constitute us truly happy. 

That which is earthly can at best only gratify 
earthly desires , but we have unearthly desires, 
as desires for the favor of God, and for a blissful 
immortality after death. Now, he who stops with 
the gratification of earthly desires, must, from 
the very structure of his intellectual and moral 
nature, live unblest; since those higher and 
holier longings of his soul are held down and 
stifled. The man of faith has this advantage 
over the man of sense : while the latter seeks 
only good here, the former can enjoy whatever is 
really worth enjoying in this world, rud still live 
in anticipation of a ceaseless and unsullied bliss 
in heaven : " For all things/' says the apostle to 



22 st. peter's chain. 

the man of faith, " are yours ; whether Paul, or 
Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
or things present, or things to come : all are yours, 
and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." The 
Christian, by virtue of his spiritual connection 
with Christ, has a claim upon every thing which 
can yield his soul profit. He can claim the apos- 
tles and ministers of Christ as his instructors in 
righteousness. The world is his, with its seas 
and rivers, and mountains and vales, and birds 
and flowers : all are his but its sins. For God's 
people the world was made, and for them it is 
upheld. All nature, sun, moon, and stars, speak 
to them of him whom they call Father. All 
things, tempests, wars, famines, and pestilences, 
work together for their good. All trials and 
providential events serve to advance the glory of 
the Church, and the purity and happiness of 
Christians. Life is theirs : not in its emptiness 
and unmeaning ceremony, but in its reality and 
importance. Faith makes it priceless, as the 
season of preparation for an eternal world. But 
death is theirs ; and is not death a calamity and 



r a i t ii . 23 

a curse? Yes, truly, to all but the Christian. 
To the sinner, death is the end of his joy: the 
point of departure from his heaven ; for earth is 
his heaven. To the Christian, it is the gate to 
endless peace. It is that which separates him 
from all his woe, and unites him to all he loves 
and desires. Faith euables the good man to say, 
'• Though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me : 
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 

Let us notice more particularly the practical 
effects of faith ; and to do this, we have but to 
consult the word of God, especially the lives of 
the holy men therein recorded. Faith forms the 
ground of all acceptable service rendered to God. 
Without this faith, all religious service is but a 
mockery of God ; but with this, every act of wor- 
ship is pleasing in his sight. The offerings of 
Cain and Abel are intended to impress upon us 
the importance of faith in our approaches to God. 
The Apostle Paul, in Hebrews xi. ; says, " By 
faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sac- 
rifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness 



24 st. peter's chain. 

that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts ; 
and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh." Here 
both the brothers brought an offering to God; 
yet the offering of the elder was rejected, and that 
of the other accepted ; for it is said, "And the 
Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offering ; but 
unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect/' 
And why? Because the offering of x\bel was 
made in faith. It was the right sort of offering — 
a lamb, which typified Him who is spoken of in 
Scripture as a " Lamb slain from the foundation 
of the world/' and as the "Lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world." Abel, in his 
offering, confessed that he was a sinner, and that 
he looked for the remission of sins through the 
shedding of blood : not the blood of the animal 
which he laid upon the altar of sacrifice, but the 
blood of Him who had been promised as the " seed 
of the woman," which should "bruise the ser- 
pent's head." In a word, he expressed his faith 
and hope in the atonement which should be made 
by Jesus Christ. Christ was in his offering, and 
therefore it was acceptable to God. It is said of 



FAITH. 25 

Abel, that u he obtained witness that he was 
right d testifying of his gifts." God 

doobilen gate him some visible evidence of his 
approval. It may be that he sent down fire from 
heaven to consume his sacrifice, and thereby as- 
sure him of his Divine favor. But it is added, 
* By it [the sacrifice] he, being dead, yet speak- 
eth." He speaks to all mankind who live after 
him, of the necessity of an atonement for sin, 
and of the indispensableness of faith in that 
atonement, in order to pardon and acceptance 
with God. 

This faith creates a delight in God, and a fond- 
ness for communion with him. This character- 
istic of faith finds a beautiful illustration in the 
example of Enoch. Paul says, "By faith Enoch 
was translated, that he should not see death ; and 
was not found, because God had translated him ; 
for before his translation he had this testimony, 
that he pleased God." Moses says, " Enoch 
walked with God; and he was not,- for God took 
him." These four words, "Enoch walked with 
God," give us a fuller insight into the character 
3 



26 st. peter's chain. 

of that antediluvian worthy than we get into the 
characters of others whose biographies stretch 
through hundreds of pages. " He walked with 
God jV and how long ? a few months, or years ? 
No : " he walked with God" three hundred years. 
What a blessed companionship did faith secure 
him ! It put him with God, and kept him there. 
How much of holy joy and peace and love must 
he have possessed with his God ! Faith enabled 
him to keep a constant recollection of the Divine 
presence, and to live untouched by the moral 
contamination which surrounded him. Was this 
walking with God a privilege peculiar to Enoch ? 
Have not others since his day done the same? 
And may not we do it? This privilege and hono/ 
is ours. We cannot walk three centuries with 
God, and then be translated, but we can walk 
with him the remnant of our lives, and then, 
when these shall close, die in peace, and enter into 
heaven. To walk with God is to trust in him, 
love him, honor him, and obey him. They who 
walk thus will not fail to find at all times a pre- 
sent God, shedding light upon their path, giving 



FAITH. 27 

them victory over their enemies, bearing them 
cles, and infusing peace and comfort 

^ils. 
itfa leads to reverence and holy fear. 
I is a God of purity, immutability, and power. 
God of purity, he loves holiness and abhors 
As a God of immutability, he can never 
cease to possess the same moral attributes. As a 
God of power, he will execute vengeance upon 
all who obey not the truth. All who know God 
as possessed of these attributes, will entertain for 
him a holy fear, and will not delay to keep all his 
commandments. This holy fear and ready obe- 
dience find an illustration in the life of Noah. 
The apostle says, " By faith, Noah, being warned 
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with 
/car, prepared an ark, to the saving of his house; 
by the which he condemned the world, and be- 
came heir of the righteousness which is by faith." 
Without this faith, Noah would have had no fear 
of God and the threatened deluge, and would 
have been, with his family, overwhelmed with tho 
wicked. But his faith in God — in the immuta- 



28 st. peter's chain. 

bility of his character and word — moved him 
with fear, and that fear led him to the building 
of the ark, which saved himself and family from 
ruin. How often have parents, by the exercise 
of this same faith, been led to pursue that course 
of conduct which has secured themselves and 
children from the displeasure of God, and brought 
around them his favor and protection ! 

Every parent who has this faith, will live 
u warned of things not seen as yet" — death, and 
a coming judgment — and will endeavor to get all 
his children shut up in the true ark, Christ Jesus. 
Noah's faith, which was characterized by humble 
obedience, condemned the wicked world about 
him. That faith which fails to do this, is an un T 
reliable and spurious faith. It has nothing of 
God in it : it will not better mankind, for out 
of it no light will shine, and no good can come. 
It will not better its possessor, for it can give no 
peace living or dying, and has no claim on Heaven. 
The faith which God approves is that which con- 
demns the world, both by precept and example. 
And it has an heirship to "the righteousness 



I A I T II . 29 

which is by faith." It instrumentally clcauses 
the heart ; " tor with the heart man believeth 
Viteousiiess." By this faith holiness is 
. and, consequently, a meetness for hea- 
for "the pure in heart shall see God/' 
This faith leads to a renunciation of self, and 
les those who possess it to abandon themselves 
■ od for safe -keeping and guidance. This 
phase of faith is illustrated in the character of 
Abraham. "By faith, Abraham, when he was 
called to go out into a place which he should 
afterward receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and 
he went out, not knowing whither he went/' 
" By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, 
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles 
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the 
same promise ; for he looked for a city which 
hath foundations. " The Scriptures present us 
with no character who exhibii.3 such an unfal- 
tering faith in God, and such a ready obedience 
to his will, as Abraham ; and hence, ho is called 
" the father of the faithful." A mighty desert 
stretched between Chaldea, his native land, and 
3* 



80 st. peter's chain. 

that which God intended to bestow upon him and 
his posterity. Yet, at his call, he forsook home 
and kindred, and began his march across the 
trackless desert, " not knowing whither he went." 
" He walked by faith, and not by sight." The 
way in which he travelled was a new and strange 
way to him, yet he moved forward, sensible of the 
Divine presence and guidance. The poet, gather- 
ing encouragement from this example of faith, 
sings : 

u His call we obey, Like Abram of old, 
We know not the way, But faith makes us bold ; 
For though we are strangers, We have a sure guide, 
And trust, in all dangers, The Lord will provide." 

That faith which causes us to commit ourselves, 
with all our interests, our hopes, and fears, into 
the hands of God, is the faith which he delights 
to own, by giving it special marks of his favor 
in encouraging, supporting, and directing it. 
Abraham's faith embraced Christ, and hence it 
is said it " was counted to him for righteousness." 
Our Saviour himself says, " Abraham rejoiced to 
gee my day; and he saw it, and was glad." John 



FAITH. 31 

viii. 56. Abraham's faith extended beyond the 
boundaries of earth, even while traversing the 
country which God had given him : his faith was 
hiilg for a better portion, "for a city that 
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is 
What a blessed faith that is which re- 
ceives all its blessings here as from God, and yet 
looks for richer blessings and better habitations 
in the skies ! 

This faith creates in the heart a disposition to 
forego every thing worldly, for the honor and 
glory of God. Under its influence, the mind ac- 
quires new views, and the heart new affections. 
God becomes the object of its adoration, and his 
service the field of its delight. The life of Moses 
is illustrative of this truth. " By faith, Moses, 
when he was come to years, refused to be called 
the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather 
to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to 
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season : esteeming 
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the 
treasures in Egypt ; for he had respect unto the 
recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook 



32 st. peter's chain. 

Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he 
endured, as seeing Him who is invisible/' This 
faith not only led him to renounce all earthly 
glory, but it sustained him amid the wilderness 
trials through which he passed. He would have 
none but God for his guide. Following him, 
he feared nothing, for he felt that no weapon 
formed against him could prosper. Faith in God 
gave him victory over his enemies, and comforted 
him in his last hours upon the heights of Nebo, 
where, with God and angels as attendants upon his 
burial, his soul soared away to that Canaan which 
was far brighter and lovelier than that upon 
which he had gazed. 

" Precious faith I" It hears God saying, in 
its darkest hours, " My grace is sufficient for 
thee." All earthly good may fail : friends, char- 
acter, health, property, may forsake us ; yet with 
an unshaken confidence in God, we can take it 
all joyfully, and feel that even our losses shall 
work together for our good. This faith is heroio 
in its character. "By it," says the apostle, " the 
walls of Jericho fell." He declares that "the 



i \ i r n . 33 

time would fail him to tell" of its achievements. 
It subdued kingdoms. This faith was not con- 
fined to men, but women possessed it in an emi- 
Wonien received their dead raised 
to life again, and others were tortured, " not ac- 
deliverance." We hear of the moral 
sublime, but nowhere do we see it so gloriously 
displayed as in the history of these heroes and 
nes of # the Christian faith. 
What the gospel requires of us is, to believe 
in God, and to believe God — to believe what he 
. and because he says it : to trust him for his 
wisdom, goodness, and love; to trust him in 
rd to his providence, and in regard to his 
tl government. We are to confide in Christ 
as his Son, our Teacher, Friend, Intercessor. 
Having this confidence in him, we shall possess 
tranquillity of soul, and hold unceasing commun- 
ion with him. The future we shall calmly leave 
with him, and go forward to duty. That extra- 
ordinary man of God, John Wesley^ possessed in 
an eminent degree that faith which improves the 
present, and looks to the future without fear. 



34 st. peter's chain. 

A lady once asked hini, " Mr. Wesley, supposing 
that you knew you were to die at twelve o'clock 
to-niorrow night: how would you spend the in- 
tervening time ?" " How, madam ?" he replied : 
"why, just as I intend to spend it now. I 
should preach this evening at Gloucester; and 
again at five to-morrow morning. After that, I 
should ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the after- 
noon, and meet the societies in the evening. I 
should then repair to friend Martin's house, who 
expects to entertain me, converse and pray with 
the family as usual, retire to my room at ten 
o'clock, commend myself to my Heavenly Father, 
lie down to rest, and wake up in glory." Here 
was faith "roore precious than gold." 

Reader, have you this faith, which unites 
the soul to Christ, deriving pardon and purity 
through his blood ? Are you fighting the good 
fight of faith, expecting to lay hold of eternal 
life ? Will you be able to say, with Paul, when 
you come to die, " I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith : 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 



FA ITU. .-) 

right i, which the Lord, the righteous 

Judge, .-hall ui ye me at ^ iat ^Ji aii ^ 110 ^ to me 
onlv. hut unto all them which love his appear- 
rt Lord, increase our faith." 

" Faith is the Christian's prop, 

"Whereon his sorrows lean : 
It i< the 'substance' of his hope, 

His proof of things unseen : 
It is the anchor of his soul, 
When tempests rage and billows roll. 

u Faith is the polar star, 

That guides the Christian's bark ; 
Directs his wandering when afar. 

To reach the holy ark. 
It points his course where'er he roam, 
And safely bads the pilgrim home. 

"Faith is the rainbow's form, 

Hung on the brow of heaven; 
The glory of the passing storm, 

The pledge of mercy given : 
It is the bright triumphal arch 
Through which the saints to glory march. 

" Faith is the mountain rock, 

Whose summit towers on high. 
Secure above the tempest's shock, 

An inmate of the sky : 
Fixed on a prize of greater worth, 
It views with scorn the things of earth. 



86 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



4 That faith that works by love, 

And purifies the heart, 
A foretaste of the joys above 

To mortals can impart. 
The Christian's faith is simply this : 
A passport to immortal bliss. 7 * 




VIRTUE. 37 



CHAPTER II. 

VIRTUE. 

The meaning of the word — The difficulty of entering upon a 
Christian life — Our Saviour's encouragement to his disciples — 
Examples of this courage in Elijah, Nathan, the Hebrew chil- 
dren, John the Baptist, Peter, John, Paul, and Luther — The 
young lad}- — True heroes. 

"Add to your faith virtue. n The word trans- 
lated virtue here means fortitude or courage. 
He who would make sure the salvation of his 
soul, must possess that spirit which will dare to 
do right. It is not enough for us to say, "Lord, 
Lord V* We must have firmness and consistency 
of mind in doing the will of the Lord. It 
requires no little courage to begin a Christian 
life: to enter upon a course of self-denial and 
cross -bearing : to renounce the friendship of 
the world : to break up old companionships : to 
conquer the tyranny of habit : to withdraw the 
4 



38 st. peter's chain. 

affections from those objects which have so long 
engaged and captivated them : to set out upon 
the path of faith : to part with the visible for 
the invisible : to send the thoughts on a mission 
heavenward, when they are naturally prone 
earthward : to begin to sow to the Spirit, when 
we have been, from childhood's early dawn, sow- 
ing to the flesh. All this requires courage — a 
sort of courage which no man by nature ever 
had. God alone can inspire us with it. It is 
not earthborn : it is infused into the soul by the 
Spirit of all grace. When the apostle exhorts 
us to add to our " faith virtue/' (or courage,) it 
is not implied that we can do this independently 
of Divine assistance. Peter never forgets man's 
dependence upon God for grace to help him on in 
his Christian pilgrimage. And when he tells us 
to add, he means for us to do it by applying to 
Him who is the source of all strength and spirit- 
ual consolation. Let the Christian go forward to 
suffering and to duty, but let him not forget to 
" commit the keeping of his soul to Him in well- 
doing as unto a faithful Creator." 



VIRTUE. 39 

[fi is alone in reliance upon God that we can 
begin and continue a life of piety. He must 
impart the requisite courage, and this he will do 
only in answer to earnest and faithful prayer. 
Thus, what we are said in Scripture to do for 
ourselves is but what we get God to do for us. 
Paul to Timothy says, " For God hath not given 
itt the spirit of fear," [cowardice.] That is, God 
hath given us the spirit of courage. Our Lord 
rebuked the weakness of his disciples on one 
occasion, when he. said, " Why are ye so fearful 
[cowardly] ? How is it that ye have no faith J" 
Thus we see that the cause of their wavering 
and unsettled state of mind was a want of faith : 
which obviously sustains the fact that God alone 
can inspire the heart with Christian courage. 

On another occasion, while the disciples were 
perplexed and drooping under the prospect of the 
Saviour's departure from them, he, to cheer and 
encourage them, said, "Let not^your heart be 
troubled, neither let it be afraid." We observe, 
from the Saviour's teaching, that the spirit of 
cowardice is no part of the spirit of faith. How- 



40 st. peter's chain. 

ever zealous our lives, and however confident our 
professions, yet if we are afraid or ashamed to 
own the Saviour, we cannot but expect that he 
will be ashamed of us and disown us before his 
Father and his holy angels. 

The name Christian is almost synonymous with 
the word courage. He has a spirit within him 
which raises him above fear. God has implanted 
it there, to make him superior to the world, and 
to enable him to triumph over it. Does not the 
Saviour recognize the invincibility of his follow- 
ers ? " In the world," says he, " ye shall have 
tribulation ; but be of good cheer : I have over- 
come the world." They are united to one who 
hath overpowered all enemies, and whose sov- 
ereignty controls death, hell, and the grave. Hath 
not this glorious conqueror of principalities and 
powers promised his disciples his presence, even 
unto the end of the world ? And may they not 
confidently expect, through him, to come off, in 
every conflict with their enemies, more than con- 
querors ? 

If you would gain heaven, you must have 






VIRTUE. 41 

Christian courage: a fearless spirit in the dis- 
eharge of duty ; a spirit which will not allow yov 
to draw back from that path which the word of 

. and conscience, and Providence have pointed 
out to be pursued, though it be beset with hard- 

. toil, and pain. A man lias no business call- 
in e himself a Christian, who is content to live a 
life of elegant ease. Such a disciple is above his 
Master : such a servant above his Lord. The 
Saviour has, by his example and teaching, left to 
his followers an inheritance of labor and suffering. 
"If any man will come after me, let him deny 
himself, and take up his cross and follow me.'' 

-, self-denial and cross-bearing form one of 
the conditions of discipleship. We hear the 
Lord saying to Ananias, when he sent him to 
Saul, " For I will show him how great things he 
must suffer for my name's sake." He who be- 
comes a disciple of Christ, must be prepared to 
" endure hardness as a good soldier/' lie enters 
upon a warfare which will tax all his powers of 
mind and soul. 

The Scriptures abound with examples of moral 
4* . 



42 st. peter's chain. 

courage. We see it in Moses, in confronting the 
hard-hearted Pharaoh, and demanding of him the 
release of the Israelites. We see it in Elijah, 
when he suddenly appears before the wicked 
Ahab, and sternly rebukes him for his sins, and 
for having brought trouble upon Israel. What a 
sublime and lofty courage does he exhibit while 
standing upon the summit of Carmel, and sur- 
rounded by the enemies of his God ! There 
stand, gazing upon him, the four hundred and 
fifty prophets of Baal, with their multitude of de- 
luded followers. These had the strength of the 
throne on their side. They fed at the royal table, 
and basked in the royal smile. Fearful, indeed, 
was the opposition against the prophet of Jeho- 
vah. But what cared he for men or devils, 
while encircled by the arm of Omnipotence? 
He who had by a word made Ahab quake and 
tremble, feared not to rebuke his pitiful minions. 
He had come to that mountain eminence to vin- 
dicate the character of his God, and to put Baal 
and his worshippers to rout and everlasting confu- 
sion. What a burning expostulation rushes from 



VIRTUE. 43 

his lips : " How long halt ye between two opin- 
ions 1 If the Lord be God, follow him j but if 
Baal, then follow him. And the people answered 
him not a word." He then throws down a chal- 
lenge in these words : " The God that answereth 
by fire, let him be God." They accept the chal- 
lenge. "All the people answered and said, It is 
well spoken." How little did they anticipate the 
result which followed ! They called for fire upon 
their sacrifice long and loud, but their senseless 
god gave them no heed. But at the call of Eli- 
jah, fire fell from heaven in sight of all Israel, 
and consumed his offering, and the very stones 
of the altar. Then the extorted acknowledgment 
of Elijah's God came forth in a shout from the 
people : " The Lord, he is the God : the Lord, he 
is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take 
the prophets of Baal : let not one of them escape. 
And they took them; and Elijah brought them 
down to the brook Kishon, and slew them 
there." 

We behold this courage in the prophet Nathan, 
when he stood in the presence of King David, 



44 st. peter's chain. 

and charged home his sin upon him, saying, 
"Thou art the man.' 7 

We behold it in the three Hebrew children, 
who, when commanded by the King of Babylon 
to fall down and worship his image, refused. And 
when it was said to him, " These men, king, 
have not regarded thee : they serve not thy gods, 
nor worship the golden image which thou hast 
set up ;" and when the king remonstrated with 
them, and threatened, "If ye worship not, ye 
shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a 
burniDg fiery furnace;" they answered, "0 Neb- 
uchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in 
this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve 
is able to deliver us from the burning fiery fur- 
nace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, 
king. But if not, be it .known unto thee, 
king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor 
worship the golden image which thou hast 
set up." 

But examples of pious heroism are not confined 
to the Old Testament saints. We have many 
such in the New Testament. John the Baptist 



VIRTUE. 45 

I it when he reproved Herod for unlaw- 
fully "taking his brother Philip's wife, and for 
all the evils he had done." 

Peter aud John showed it when commanded 
by the rulers and elders and scribes " not to 
speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus." 
They exclaimed, (i ^Ye cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard." 

The great apostle of the Gentiles possessed a 
large share of this courage. From the hour of 
receiving his commission to preach the gospel of 
Christ, until the hour of his death, he shrank 
from no duty imposed upon him by Divine author- 
ity. That course which conscience pointed out 
to be pursued, he unhesitatingly adopted. No 
threatenings of danger could intimidate him. His 
resolution was formed upon the basis of moral 
obligation, and nothing could shake it; neither 
the menaces of enemies, nor the persuasions of 
weeping friends. Duty called him at ooe time to 
Jerusalem. The prophet Agabus takes Paul's 
girdle, and binds his own hands and feet, and 
said, ''Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the 



46 st. peter's chain. 

Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that weareth 
this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands 
of the Gentiles." When his friends heard this, 
"they besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. " 
" Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep 
and to break my heart? for I am. ready not to be 
bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the 
name of the Lord Jesus." In preaching the 
gospel, he was constantly exposed to death, "in 
perils by land and sea." At Iconium, in com- 
pany with Barnabas, he was near being stoned to 
death by the enraged Jews. At Lystra, he was 
stoned and dragged out of the city, and left for 
dead. At Philippe with Silas, he was whipped 
and imprisoned. He lay in prison at Caesarea 
about two years : after his release, he hastened to 
visit the Churches of Greece and Rome, and, we 
are told, preached the gospel in France and 
Spain. On his return to Rome, he was appre- 
hended by the order of Nero, and martyred, by 
having his head taken off. Such was the courage 
of Paul : a courage which no power short of God's 
could intimidate. This courage was not only dis- 



VIRTUE. 47 

played in the enduring of hardships, but in re- 
proving error wherever he discovered it. Hear 
him confuting the Jews of Damascus, imme- 
diately after his conversion. Hear him, as he 
pours rebuke upon Elymas the sorcerer ! How 
lie reproves the vacillating and inconsistent con- 
duct of Peter ! And see how the iniquitous and 
licentious Felix trembles beneath the searching 
appeals to his conscience ! 

Luther, like Paul, could risk all for Christ. 
Perhaps, since the 'days of the apostle, the Church 
has not produced a more staunch and fearless de- 
fender of the doctrines of the gospel. When he 
had openly renounced the errors of Rome, he 
was called upon by a cardinal to recant; and 
when he refused, he was asked, " What do you 
mean ? Do you rely on the force of arms ? 
When the just punishment and thunder of the 
pope's indignation break in upon you, where do 
you think to remain ?" His reply was, "Either 
in heaven , or under heaven" He was not afraid 
to call the pope the man of sin and Antichrist. 
Sin, the Pope, and Satan, were the enemies 



48 st. peter's chain. 

against which he threw the whole force of his 
mighty mind. When summoned to attend the 
Diet of Worms, some of his friends, apprehen- 
sive of his safety, advised him not to go to a place 
where, perhaps, like Huss, he would be burnt. 
He replied, " I am lawfully called to that city, 
and thither will I go and defend the truth in the 
name of the Lord, though as many devils as there 
are tiles upon the houses were there combined 
against me. The same Lord is still living who 
preserved the three men in the fiery furnace." 
Latimer, Knox, Wesley, Whitefield and Clarke, 
possessed much of this same fearlessness in the 
discharge of duty. That cause above all others de- 
mands it which the Christian has espoused. His 
life becomes one of rebuke to the ungodly, and 
no wonder if they hate him. Have courage. If 
thou art a Christian, thou art in company with 
the prophets, with Christ, and with his apostles. 
We need courage to resist the seductive influ- 
ence of those who often profess for us great 
friendship. Many such are strangers to piety, 
and therefore seek their enjoyments in earthly 



VIRTUE. 49 

objects, and would have us to share with thcin in 
these enjoyments, and invite us to do so; yea, 
sometimes importune us. But the warning is, 
u If sinners entice thee, consent thou not." 
Where a compromise of religious principles is 
asked of us, we should unhesitatingly refuse it. 
The path of safety lies outside of the "very 
appearance of evil." Courage is often needed on 
the part of some who have to bear up against the 
contempt which their religion has brought upon 
them from those who are closely related to them. 
Parents have been known to treat their children 
with extreme severity when discovering them 
striving to lead religious lives. Some such pa- 
rents have threatened to disinherit their children 
if they did not abandon their religion : others 
have threatened them with physical punishment ; 
while others, in order to divert their minds from 
the subject, have forced them into gay society. 
It requires a more than ordinary firmness of 
mind, and cleaving unto God, to remain steadfast 
in the faith under such circumstances. Yet God 
has enabled many to do this, and, even by their 
5 



50 st. peter's chain. 

unyielding perseverance in well-doing, has en- 
abled them to win their opposers to Christ. 
One instance of this sort we will relate ; and we 
do it the more readily, because it strikingly 
illustrates the beauty and nature of moral cour- 
age. 

Lord was a man of the world. His 

pleasures were drawn from his riches, his honors, 
and his friends. His daughter was the idol of 
his heart. Much had been expended for her 
education ; and well did she repay, in her intel- 
lectual endowments, the solicitude of her parents. 
She was highly accomplished, amiable in her dis- 
position, and winning in her manners. 

At length Miss attended a Dissenters' 

meeting in London : was deeply awakened, and 
was soon happily converted. Now she was de- 
lighted in the service of the sanctuary, and in 
social meetings. To her the charms of Christi- 
anity were overflowing. She frequented those 
places where she met with congenial minds, ani- 
mated with similar hopes. 

The change was marked by the fond father 



VIRTUE. 51 

with Jicitude* To see his lovely daugh- 

;;i';iiiuuoJ, was to him an occasion of deep 

f, and he resolved to correct her erroneous 
uotious on the subject of the real pleasure and 
of life. He placed at her disposal large 
money, hoping she would be induced to 
go into the fashions and extravagances of others 
of her birth, and leave the meetings. But she 
maintained her integrity. He took her on long 
journeys, and acted in the most engaging man- 
ner, in order to divert her mind from religion ; 
but she still delighted in the Saviour. 

After failing in many projects which he 
fondly anticipated would be effectual, he intro- 
duced her into company, under circumstances 
that she must either join in the recreation of the 
party, or give offence. Hope lighted up in the 
countenance of this affectionate but misguided 
father, as he saw his snare about to entangle the 
object of his solicitude. It had been arranged 
among his friends, that several young ladies, on 
the approaching festive occasion, should give a 

.\ accompanied by the piano-forte. The hour 



52 st. peter's chain. 

arrived : trie party assembled. Several had per- 
formed their parts, to the great delight of the 

party, which was in high spirits. Miss was 

now called on for a song, and many hearts beat 
high in hopes of victory. Should she decline, 
she was disgraced : should she comply, their tri- 
umph was complete. This was the moment to 
seal her fate. With perfect self-possession she 
took her seat at the piano-forte, ran her fingers 
over its keys, and commenced playing and sing- 
ing in a sweet air — 

" No room for mirth or trifling here, 
For worldly hope or worldly fear, 

If life so soon is gone : 
If now the Judge is at the door, 
And all mankind must stand before 

Th' inexorable throne. 

"No matter which my thoughts employ, 
A moment's misery or joy ; 

But ! when both shall end, 
Where shall I find my destined place ? 
Shall I my everlasting days 

With fiends or angels spend?" 

She arose from her seat. The whole party was 
subdued. Not a word was spoken. One by one 



VIRTUE. 53 

they left the bouse. Her father wept aloud. 
I never rested until he became a Chris- 
tian. He lived an example of Christian benevo- 
, having given to benevolent enterprises, 
. • his death, nearly half a million of dollars. 
Had she yielded up her Christian principles, 
what ruin might have followed. But her firm- 
ness triumphed, and she saved her father. 

They who, under all circumstances, refuse to 
disown God and duty are true heroes — more to 
be honored than heated warriors, who storm and 
lay waste hostile batteries. He who, for the 
sake of truth, will not fly from the post of duty 
when life is threatened, possesses that heroic faith 
and courage which Heaven alone inspires. It is 
this which makes the martyr, the confessor, the 
missionary, the Christian. 

Header, hast thou this courage amid the trials, 
the toils, and the warfares through which thou 
art wading? If thou hast, thou shalt find all 
thine enemies yielding before thee, and thou 
shalt, if faithful till death, lay " hold upon eter- 
nal life." 

5* 



54 ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 

" 0, the day was dark ! 

Gusts of wind with rain ; 
Fiercely on our feeble bark 
Beat the raging main. 

" Evening came, and shed 
Calm o'er earth and sea: 
Verdant vale and mountain's head 
Looked out smilingly. 

" Saint, your day of life 
Stormy thus may be : 
For the durance and the strife 
Brace ye lustily. 

" Courage ! one short day : 
Soon the storm shall cease : 
Eve shall brighten with a ray 
From the land of peace." 




KNOWLEDGE. 55 



CHAPTER III. 

KNOWLEDGE. 

The papal doctrine, " Ignorance is the mother of devotion " — What 
thia knowledge is which we are to seek — Obtained by studying 
the character of Christ, and the Holy Scriptures — Christ says, 
"Thy word is truth" — Nature of that truth — Remarks of Lord 
Brougham on the pleasures of science — Chalmers, Brewster, and 
others. 

To virtue add knowledge. Peter was no be- 
liever in the papal doctrine that " Ignorance is 
the mother of devotion •" else he would not have 
exhorted the Christians to whom he addressed 
this Epistle to add knowledge to their other attain- 
ments. If you will make devotion to mean su- 
perstition, then it may with truth be said that 
" Ignorance is the mother of devotion;" for 
where ignorance reigns, there superstition, in all 
its most debasing, corrupting, and revolting forms, 



56 st. peter's chain. 

abounds. Look into the regions of paganism, and 
you will find that they have " changed the glory 
of the incorruptible God into an image made like 
to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
beasts, and creeping things. " Look among the 
uninstructed membership of the Church of Rome 
— those from whom the Sacred Scriptures are 
withheld, (and they constitute a large majority of 
that Church,) and you will discover that they run 
into all sorts of idolatries and superstitions. They 
worship saints and images. Like the heathen, 
they have their patron gods and goddesses. They 
invest their priests and higher ecclesiastics with 
Divine authority and powers : believe that they 
can work miracles and forgive sins. And recently 
Rome has sent forth a new dogma, to be swallowed 
down by them — the a immaculate conception of 
the Virgin Mary." And with greediness it is 
everywhere received. Thus the many of the Ro- 
mish Church, like the myriads of heathen lands, 
are perishing "for lack of knowledge" — a know- 
ledge of the word of God. This has been set 
aside in the case of the former by designing 



KNOWLEDGE. 57 

priests, to give place to absurd traditions, and to 
the writings of the Fathers, many of whom were 
full of pagan notions and doctrines. Instead of 
bread they have given a stone, and for a fish they 
have given a serpent. 

The knowledge that the apostle would have all 
Christians acquire is the knowledge of the truth. 
Those to whom he wrote were supposed to have 
had a knowledge of pardon through Christ. He 
opens the Epistle, saying, " Simon Peter, a servant 
and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have 
obtained like precious faith with us, through the 
righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 
They were, like Peter, in possession of the pre- 
cious faith, yet they were to build upon this faith, 
by adding to it virtue and knowledge. The Chris- 
tian, then, is to seek to advance in Divine know- 
ledge : to go on to know more of God — more of 
the power of Christ's salvation ; yea, more of all 
the mysteries of godliness. 

If we would obtain the knowledge which saves, 
and which beautifies and renders useful the life, 
we must sit at the feet of Him in whom 



58 ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 

are " hid all the treasures of wisdom and know- 
ledge." 

None ever taught lessons of so vital import- 
ance with so much dignity and simplicity. His 
object in teaching was not to make a display be- 
fore his hearers ; not to regale their imaginations ; 
but to inform their judgments and to improve 
their hearts. This characteristic in the Saviour, 
as a teacher, strikingly attests his claim to be the 
Son of God. Had he been an impostor, as charged 
by his enemies, he would have employed more 
art, and operated more directly upon the passions 
of his hearers. He would have promulgated doc- 
trines more congenial to human nature ; but, in- 
stead of this, his doctrines fall with withering re- 
buke upon the passions, affections, and prejudices 
of our nature. His object was to give to those who 
heard him an insight into their hearts, that they 
might see their corruption, come out of them- 
selves, and seek their true end in him. 

The Saviour unfolded the mystery of sin, show- 
ing its poisoning, ruining, damning influence upon 
the soul. He showed in himself a remedy for 



K N OWLEDOE. 59 

ad proclaimed himself accessible to all who 
> be healed of that awful malady. His 
>0 upon the Mount has ever been justly ad- 
mired for its inimitable simplicity of style, and 
ure morality. His words distilled as honey 
when he opened his mouth upon that occasion : 

u Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven. 

" Blessed are they that mourn ; for they shall 
be comforted. 

" Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit 
the earth. 

" Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness; for they shall be filled. 

':' Blessed are the merciful; for they shall ob- 
tain mercy. 

'• Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall 
see God. 

" Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall 
be called the children of God. 

Blessed are they which are persecuted for 
righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven. 



60 st. peter's chain. 

" Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and 
persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil 
against you falsely, for my sake. 

u Kejoice, and be exceeding glad ; for great is 
your reward in heaven ; for so persecuted they 
the prophets which were before you." 

0, what glorious encouragement do these words 
of the Great Teacher afford to all who are seeking 
to lead Christian lives ! They fill the heart with 
heavenly joy and the mind with heavenly light. 
Here in this chapter he declares the worth of 
piety, by setting forth its possessors as the salt of 
the earth, and as the light of the world. Here 
he teaches how to forgive and how to love our 
enemies : how to dispense our alms, and how to 
pray to our Father which is in heaven : how to 
trust him for our daily bread, and how to commit 
our lives into the hands of Him who provides for 
the fowls of the air, who paints the lilies, and 
clothes the grass of the field. " He taught them 
as one having authority, and not as the scribes." 
He possessed none of the austerity and pomp of 
the latter. u His authority was power, impression, 



K X OW LEDGE. 61 

I : arising from the sublimity of the truths 
which he preached, the wisdom with which he 
unfolded them, and the clearness with which he 
applied them." Truly may it be said of him, 
that *f He spake as never man spake." Paul but 
imitated the Saviour's manner when he preached 
to the Corinthians, and to which he alludes when 
he says, " My speech and my preaching was not 
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in de- 
monstration of the Spirit and of power, that your 
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but 
in the power of God." 

He combined every excellence necessary to 
qualify him to become the instructor of a world. 
All the secrets of time and eternity were his. 
He knew all things in heaven and in earth. All 
the past, and all the present, and all the future 
were before him. u It pleased the Father that 
in Christ should all fulness dwell :" the fulness 
of Divine light, life, wisdom, grace. Blessed 
Teacher ! eternity alone shall develop the mighty 
import of thy Divine utterances. Let us, like 
the disciples, draw near and listen to his dis- 
6 



02 ST. peter's chain. 

courses; or, like Mary, sit at his feet and be 
wise. 

We may gain instruction by contemplating his 
example. The blessed Saviour has alone in hu- 
man form presented to the world a perfect model 
of greatness and virtue. Truly he may say, in 
view of his holy example, " Learn of me, for I 
am meek and lowly in heart." He who would 
perfect humanity, or carry it to the highest possi- 
ble moral improvement, let him seek to assimilate 
his life to that of the Saviour. 

Consider his overflowing benevolence. He was 
ever engaged in bestowing favors upon those who 
could make him no return other than that of 
gratitude. We find him pausing in his discourse 
at Capernaum, to pardon and to heal a palsied 
man, who had been let down through the roof of a 
house before him. We see him stopping a burial 
procession, to raise to life a poor widow's son. 
We behold him pausing, while travelling with a 
multitude, to give sight to a blind man, who cried 
after him from the wayside. We see him crossing 
the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of a storm, to 



KNOWLEDGE. 63 

dispossess of devils a poor Gadarcne. We hear 
him saying to his disciples concerning the multi- 
tudes that followed hirn into the desert to listen 
to his gracious words, "I have compassion on the 
multitude, because they continue with me now 
three days, and have nothing to eat ; and I will 
not send them away fasting, lest they faint by 
the way." Soon, by his miraculous power, the 
few loaves and fishes are multiplied, and they 
feast upon more than enough. It is true we can- 
not, like the Saviour, work miracles ; but we can, 
like him, do good. " We can give according to 
that we have." 

He teaches us disinterested benevolence, by 
telling us, when we make a feast, not to call 
our kinsmen, friends, and rich neighbors, but the 
poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. "And 
then," says Christ, " shalt thou be blessed, for 
they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be 
recompensed at the resurrection of the just." 

Consider his humility. How great that conde- 
scension which led him to withdraw himself from 
the glories of heaven, and to sojourn on earth ! 



64 st. peter's chain. 

Could the highest angel of the skies, by some 
power of his own, assume the form and office of 
the most insignificant insect, the change, though 
astonishingly great, could not be compared with 
that which took place when the Son of God hum- 
bled himself to become man. This humility in- 
volved a mystery over which the unfallen sons 
of light hung in amazement. He reached a depth 
of humiliation which to them was at once fathomless 
alfa 1 incomprehensible. He who was enthroned 
in glory, and dwelt in unapproachable brightness, 
becomes a wayfarer, a houseless wanderer, the 
associate of the despised and the indigent. Why 
all this ? He came to reverse the order of things, 
as they existed among the great. He came to 
bring strength out of weakness, and, by compara- 
tively feeble instrumentalities, to establish a king- 
dom upon earth : one which should exist and go 
on increasing when temporal principalities and 
powers should be swept into oblivion. He came 
to teach mankind a lesson of meekness and lowli- 
ness, and thus to put to shame the self-importance 
and imaginary greatness of Jewish rabbies and 



KNOWLEDGE. 65 

pagan philosophers. He needs not the coopera- 
tion of the mighty of earth to disseminate his 
doctrines. He took as instructors of the world a 
few fishermen, a tax-gatherer, and other obscure 
personages. These he trained at his feet, and, 
clothing them with heavenly armor, sent them 
forth to invade the strongholds of pride, and to 
lay waste the kingdom of darkness. Thus, every 
movement of our blessed Saviour serves to impress 
upon us a lesson of humility. His birth, his life, 
his death, all say, u Learn of me; for I am meek 
and lowly in heart ; and ye shall find rest to your 
souls. " 

It is from the word of God that we must seek 
that knowledge to which the apostle alludes. We 
have the Saviour's injunction upon the subject 
of studying the inspired records : " Search the 
Scriptures." These contain what we, as im- 
mortal and sinful beings, need — truth. Let us 
notice the nature of this truth. * 

It is convicting truth. This word makes us 
acquainted with the law of God, which is u holy, 
just, and good :" universal in its application, and 
6* 



66 st. peter's chain. 

requiring entire obedience in thought, word, and 
deed. The sinner, when brought to try himself 
by this law, finds himself guilty of many moral 
obliquities. It commands love to God and man \ 
but he finds enmity towards both. It demands 
humility ; but he finds in himself nothing but 
pride. It denounces its maledictions against 
idolatry; but in looking into his heart, he be- 
holds it, like a heathen pagoda, filled with idols. 
This law condemns him at every point. It 
becomes a two-edged sword, cutting its way into 
his soul, and exposing its hidden deformity. 
Under this exposure of himself to himself he is 
forced to cry, "0 wretched man that I am ! who 
shall deliver me from this body of death V J 
Convicted of disobedience against a righteous 
law, and realizing his utter inability to fulfil its 
requirements, he cries out, " God be merciful to 
me a sinner I" Thus this word carries with it 
convicting power. It was preached* by Paul in 
" demonstration of the Spirit and of power." In 
the mouth of Peter, on the day of Pentecost, it 
cut multitudes to the heart, and forced them to 



KNOWLEDGE. 67 

plead for deliverance from sin. And this is its 
character wherever faithfully applied. 

It rting truth. To the penitent it 

9 a full and free salvation through the atone- 
ment of Christ. It points to the " fountain 
opened in the house of David for sin and un- 
;mess." It " proclaims liberty to the cap- 
tives." Paul declares, "I am not ashamed of 
the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God 
unto salvation to every one that believeth." He 
had himself experienced so much of its saving 
efficacy, as well as witnessed it in others, that he 

ready at all times to glory in it and to preach 
it to the world. He had witnessed its power to 

among the polished Grecians, the stern Rom- 
ans, the unlearned barbarians, and the ceremo- 
nious Jew. Through it goes forth the enlightening 
and quickening power of the Spirit. Sometimes 
it comes upon the heart in melting influences : at 
other times it falls upon the soul h overwhelming 
power. " Is not my word as a fire, saith the 
Lord, and like a hammer which breaketh the 
rock in pieces V } It matters not how it comes, 



68 ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 

whether with the sound of the whirlwind, or 
with a still small voice ; if it is attended with the 
Holy Ghost, " it will accomplish that whereunto 
it is sent." " It will prove the savor of life unto 
life." It is the grand instrument through which 
is displayed God's saving power. 

It is sanctifying truth. The Christian who 
sincerely believes this word, and brings his life 
into conformity to its teachings, acquires holiness 
of heart. The Saviour, in praying to the Father 
in behalf of his disciples, says, " Sanctify them 
through thy truth : thy word is truth." We are 
taught by Peter that the heart is purified by 
u obeying the truth." In the gospel the glory 
of the Lord is seen. " We all, with open face, 
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
are changed into the same image from glory to 
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 
Blessed truth ! the sinner should love it, because 
it exhibits the love of God towards him in the 
gift of his Son, and invites him to a provided sal- 
vation. The penitent should love it, because it 
offers him comfort. The Christian should love 



KNOWLEDGE. 69 

it, fcaofcuM it secures him the protectiou and 
guidance of Almighty Goodness, and enables 
him the Lord is my Shepherd: I shall 

want." 
1 lore is found the knowledge the world needs, 
di\d without which it must perish. To be igno- 
rant of the Bible is to be ignorant of God, for 
here alone we learn his perfections and character. 
By searching the Scriptures we become acquainted 
with the offices of Christ; and without knowing 
Christ in his offices, we cannot trust in him to 
the saving of our souls. " This is life eternal, 
to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus 

isfc, whom thou hast sent." 

Then u search the Scriptures." Search them 

with humility. " The meek will he guide in 

judgment; and the meek will he teach his way." 

••Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean 

I o thine own understanding." Search with 
prayer. Say with pious David, •' Open thou mine 

. that I may behold wondrous things out of 
thy law. Make me to understand the way of 
thy precepts." 



70 st. peter's chain. 

We are to increase our spiritual knowledge in 
every possible way. By studying the Scriptures : 
by waiting upon God in the sanctuary and in our 
closets. But further, the Christian, as a steward 
of God, is under obligation to seek useful know- 
ledge wherever he can find it, in order that he 
may the better meet the end of his being, and 
fulfil his high and noble destiny. It is proper 
for him to cultivate his mind and refine his taste 
by studying the choicest and chastest literature. 
The rough block of marble is less suggestive and 
impressive than when the chisel of the accom- 
plished artist has given it the beautiful propor- 
tions of the " human form divine." In its form 
less state it hardly arrested attention : now it 
stands forth the representative of a living, mov- 
ing, thinking being. So an ignorant, uncultivated 
person excites in you no agreeable emotion ; but 
often awakens in you disgust and pity, especially 
if his ignorance is mixed up with low depravities. 
On the other hand, one who has been dug out 
of the great quarry of humanity by Divine power : 
one who has been made anew in Christ, polished 



KNOWLEDGE. 71 

and transformed by the Spirit : whose mind has 
been adorned by the study of a pure and elegant 
'heraturc, an^ by the contemplation of what is 
itiful in nature, at once interests you, attracts 
you, and makes you turn your thoughts upwards 
to Him who is the source of all intelligence and 
beauty. You think of man in his primitive 
guilelessness, and you long to move onward to a 
higher point of mental and moral improvement. 

The vast book of nature lies open for the 
study of the Christian student. Let him here 
contemplate the wisdom, power, and goodness of 
its Divine Author. Let him, like the Psalmist, 
consider the heavens, with their sun and moon 
and stars, which he has ordained, and be humble. 
Let him, like Solomon, study the hyssop upon 
the wall. If he would quicken his activities, let 
him seek a lesson from the ways of the ant. 
Look upon the little sparrow, and learn to trust 
in God for your bread. Learn of every thing. 
In the language of Job, "Ask now the beasts, 
and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the 
air, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the 



72 st. peter's chain. 

earth, and it shall teach thee ; and the fishes of 
the sea shall declare unto thee/' 

Lord Brougham, on the pleasures of science, 
observes, " We are raised by science to an under- 
standing of the infinite wisdom and goodness 
which the Creator has displayed in all his works. 
Not a step can we take in any direction, without 
perceiving the most extraordinary traces of de- 
sign ; and the skill, everywhere conspicuous, is 
calculated in so vast a proportion of instances 
to promote the happiness of living creatures, and 
especially of ourselves, that we can feel no hesita- 
tion in concluding that, did we know the whole 
scheme of Providence, every part would appear 
to be in harmony with a plan of absolute benevo- 
lence. Independently, however, of this most 
consoling inference, the delight is inexpressible, 
of being able to follow, as it were, with our eyes, 
the marvellous works of the great Architect of 
nature, and to trace the unbounded power and 
exquisite skill which are exhibited in the most 
minute as well as the mightiest parts of his 
system." 




K N W LEDGE. 73 

The Christian should lay all valuable know- 
under contribution, and employ it in 
the service of his Master. Paul found all his 
knowledge of books and things useful to him in 
ministry. His knowledge of the Jewish 
enabled him to explain their proper relation 
to the Christian system. His acquaintance with 
the Grecian poets allowed him the more conve- 
niently to adapt his discourse to his hearers on 
•e Hill. And even his knowledge of tent- 
making was far from being useless, for it afforded 
him the means of subsistence while he preached 
jspel to the poor. 
The science of astronomy has been laid under 
contribution by Chalmers and Brewster, to help 
forward the cause of religion. Geology, once the 
boasted instrument which infidelity hoped to em- 
ploy against revelation, has been wrenched out 
of its hands by such men as John Pye Smith, 
Professor Hitchcock, and Hugh Miller, and made 
to confirm its truths. A Layard and a Tiawlinson 
have dug up the ruins of ancient cities, and made 
them bear testimony to the Divine inspiration of 



74 st. peter's chain. 

prophecy. The learning of modern times has in- 
terpreted the hieroglyphics of Egypt, and we 
find that they, too, speak in favor of holy writ. 

Learning by no means is incompatible with a 
high degree of spiritual cultivation. Sanctified 
learning has been of immense service to the 
Church. The first reformers were men of vast 
erudition, and were therefore able to cope with 
the most subtle and learned enemies of the truth. 
How much does the world owe Luther for his 
translation of the Bible into German ! and how 
much does it owe those good men and scholars 
who translated it into the most pure and beautiful 
English ! We shall find in the general Church 
men of the profoundest scholarship, whose labors 
have been directed toward the elucidation of the 
Scriptures, so as to make them intelligible and 
profitable. Let us, then, increase in all useful 
knowledge, and seek to have it baptized by the 
Holy Spirit. 

Reader, hast thou the knowledge of which the 
apostle speaks? — the knowledge of that truth 
which maketh free ? Art thou daily searching 



K N O W LI DOE. 



75 



the Scriptures, to know more fully the way of 
life, the will of God, and thy duty? Let us ever 
pray, 

11 Bnraf rind ignorance remove, 

Our blindness both of heart and mind : 
Give us the wisdom from above, 

Spotless, and peaceable, and kind : 
In knowledge pure our hearts renew, 
And store with thoughts divinely true. 

11 Learning's redundant part and vain, 
Be here cut off, and cast aside ; 
But let us, Lord, the substance gain ; 

In every solid truth abide ; 
Swiftly acquire, and ne'er forego 
The knowledge fit for man to know.'* 











76 ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 



CHAPTER IV. 

TEMPERANCE. 

The subject considered in various lights — The remark of Lord By- 
ron, " Habit is destiny" — Contrast of good and bad men. 

To knowledge add temperance. The Christian 
may have faith, and courage, and knowledge, and 
yet, for want of a strict self-control — a control 
over his thoughts and affections — he may fail 
"to go on to perfection/' or to reach the " full 
stature " of a man in Christ. It is possible for 
one, touching religious matters, to believe much, 
to dare much, and to know much, and yet be in 
bondage to many fleshly appetites and passions. 
The apostle, in order that there might be no de- 
fect in the experience of those to whom he wrote, 
puts them upon a moral regimen, requiring absti- 
nence from all those indulgences which are de- 



TEM I'KRANCE. 77 

■tractive of spiritual health and soundness. In- 
in be no healthy progress in Chris- 
tian it v, without a strict mastery over ourselves. 
Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, says, " Every 
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in 
all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible 
crown ; but we an incorruptible." The apostle al- 
ludes to the athletic exercises among the ancients, 
which consisted of boxing, wrestling, and racing. 
Those who engaged in them, in order to insure suc- 
cess and to win the laurel crown, lived an abstemious 
life, avoided wine and luxurious living, every thing 
that would unduly excite or stimulate, since such 
was sure to be followed by ultimate feebleness. He 
takes occasion, by examples like these, to exhort 
the Christian, who has a longer, a far more im- 
portant race, and an incorruptible crown as the 
prize, to practice a life of self-denial and chastity. 
Dr. Campbell says, u Temperance, which has 
been considered in the schools as denoting a supe- 
riority over the concupiscible affections — like what 
is implied in meekness over those called irascible, 
pride, anger, and impatience — is as necessary for 
7* 



78 st. peter's chain. 

the government of the appetites, as the other is 
for the passions. There is no virtue which has 
been deemed more essential to the Christian char- 
acter: there is none which has been generally 
more misunderstood, or which false religion has 
dressed out in more fantastic colors. It is ac- 
knowledged on all sides that it would ill befit the 
students of a doctrine so Divine as the Christian, 
to be slaves of appetite. To be voluptuous, and 
to be heavenly-minded, can scarcely, to any under- 
standing, appear compatible." Temperance, in 
a scriptural sense, is the opposite of excess in 
every thing. It includes the idea of moderation 
in the pursuit, and in the desire, and in the in- 
dulgence of those things which are even lawful, 
as well as of the avoiding of those things which 
are in appearance evil. The word of God says, 
" Let your moderation be known unto all men :" 
" Live soberly." We may consider temperance 
as, in part, the due regulation of those desires 
which are natural to us. 

1. The desire of property. It appears natural 
for man to desire to make or to accumulate property. 



T I M PERANCE. 79 

the word of God does not condemn this de- 
sire, it' it be regulated by another desire — that 
ling the means of doing good to others, 
and of providing for ourselves food, clothing, and 
shelter, and whatever other things which are im- 
portant to our real comfort and happiness. But 
tills desire for property is seldom properly regu- 
lated. It is suffered almost universally to run 
into the extremes of covetousness and avarice. 
Many professing Christians need long and earnest 
exhortations to temperance in their love of money ; 
for that love is absorbing and fearfully endanger- 
ing their love both for God and man. Many are 
withdrawing their zeal and devotion from the ser- 
vice of Christianity, to press them into the service 
of mammon. Around the altars of the Church 
they worship with cold and spiritless hearts ; but 
around the altars of the golden god they bow 
without lukcwarmness or weariness. Covetous- 
ness, or the greed of gain, is not only associated 
with the worst of vices by the Apostle Paul, but 
it is pronounced by him to be idolatry. " Mortify, 
therefore, your members which are upon the earth : 



80 st. peter's chain. 

fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil- 
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry/' 
We see, then, the companionship of covetousness : 
the dark crew of vices it is associated with, and, 
of consequence, how it must be abhorred in the 
sight of God. How can he otherwise than abhor 
it, when it steals away the heart from him ? when 
it hardens and deafens it to the calls of duty ? 

What says the Saviour ? " Ye cannot serve God 
and mammon/' Their natures are so different, 
that the same heart cannot simultaneously love 
each. The love of one separates the heart from 
the love of the other. It requires an earthliness 
of mind to love mammon, which condition of 
mind is incompatible with Christian devotion and 
love. When covetousness takes possession of the 
heart, it rules omnipotent. It becomes the 
u strong man armed, which keepeth the palace/' 
It sweeps from its domain all that is noble, good, 
or generous. Hear what the Lord says by Isaiah : 
" I am the Lord : that is my name ; and my glory 
will I not give to another, neither my praise to 
graven images." " It is not the form or the name 



T11MPE1UNCE. 81 

of the idol that he regards, but the heart-homage 
of the worshipper. It is not the height of the 
r the preciousness of its material, or the 
lowliness of the body's bowing down : it is the 
immortal spirit that God has made, admitting an- 
other than God to the inmost and uppermost place, 
where he claims to be : it is the secret passion of 
the soul, glutting itself on gold : it is this that 
stirs up his jealousy, and makes his wrath burn 
like fire." Covetousness is considered as the 
prostitution of the soul — spiritual adultery — since 
it draws off the affections of those who are es- 
poused to Christ, after another : puts them into 
the embrace of interdicted love. The people of 
cannot be too faithfully urged to watchful- 
ness a«rainst this insidious and growing passion. 
He who knew what was in man, spake with no 
unmeaning emphasis when he said, " Take heed, 
and beware of covetousness; for a man's life con- 
sisteth not in the abundance of the things which 
he possesseth." The Saviour had before him one 
whose heart was powerfully under its influence ; so 
much so, that he even forgot the respect and reve- 



82 st. peter's chain. 

rence due the Saviour; for we find him intruding 
himself upon him, saying, " Master, speak to my 
brother, that he divide the inheritance with me." 
The Saviour, as if to rebuke his impertinence, 
" said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or 
a divider over you V* Having this example of 
the depraving effects of covetousness at hand, he 
employs it to give warning to his disciples against 
that sin. He impresses upon them the fact that 
life is too momentous in its connections with 
time and eternity to spend in the pursuit of 
worldly gain. That man jeopards the interests 
of his soul who, having a supply for the wants 
of life, begins to thirst for a surplus. He enters 
upon the taxing of that portion of his time which 
is sacred to the service of God, and to a prepara- 
tion for death and heaven. It is the longing after 
this surplus, and the managing of it, which has en- 
tangled so many professors of religion and others in 
the snares of the devil. " Beware of covetousness." 
This " beware" of the Saviour should be to us 
like the ringing of a fire-bell at midnight. It 
should arouse us to our danger, and make us vigi- 



t l M p i u a n C E . 83 

lantlv guard against a passion which consumes the 
vitals of piety, and opens the way to endless 
ruin. " "Rut they that will be rich, fall into 
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and 
perdition. For the love of money is the root of 
all evil j which, while some coveted after, they 
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves 
through with many sorrows. But thou, man 
of God, flee these things ; and follow after right- 
ousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 
1 Tim. vi. 7-11. 

The retribution of insulted Heaven always 
falls, either in this world or in the other, upon 
those who give themselves to the worship of 
mammon. Gov. C } a man of large expe- 
rience in men and things, and a man who feared 
God, remarked to the writer that in the neigh- 
borhood where he resided some years ago, he had 
observed for a long while the course of certain 
men who were devoting their talents and time 
to the accumulation of money, and that he 
had lived to see, almost without exception, the 



84 st. peter's chain. 

children of those men reduced to poverty. A 
portion of that time which should have been 
given to the religious training of their children, 
was given to getting riches; and when these 
were gotten and placed into their hands, they 
passed through them like water through a sieve : 
they knew nothing of their use but to " consume 
them upon their lusts." 

Secondly, the desire of knoivledge. It is na- 
tural for man to wish to acquire knowledge. He 
is a rational being : born to observe, to think, to 
reason, and to reflect. He loves to look into the 
causes and into the effects of things. And it is 
in this manner he gets knowledge. He reads 
books, studies men and nature, travels over seas 
and continents, that he may learn. This desire 
is a laudable one, if it is not suffered so to run 
into extremes as to interfere with other duties. 
There is the duty of doing as well as knowing. 
A man may be so absorbed with the desire of 
increasing his knowledge as to forget his obliga- 
tions to God and man. He may make an idol 
of knowledge, and may offer his undivided horn- 



TEMPERANCE. 

Knowledge is to be sought, not so 
much for itself as for its utility — the help it will 
afford us to discharge the great duties of life. 
When that eminent Christian, James Hervey, 
who died in triumph, apprehended himself to be 
near the close of life, with eternity full in view, 
he wrote to a friend at a distance, to tell him 
what were his sentiments in that awful situation. 
u I have been too fond/' said he, "of reading 
every thing valuable and elegant, and have been 
peculiarly charmed with the historians, orators, 
and poets of antiquity ; but were I to renew my 
studies, I would take my leave of those accom- 
plished trifles : I would resign the delights of 
rn wits, amusements and eloquence, and 
devote my attention to the Scriptures of truth. 
I would sit with much greater assiduity at my 
Divine Master's feet, and desire to know nothing 
in comparison of Jesus Christ, and him cruci- 
fied." 

Here, then, we have a death -bed view of 
worldly knowledge, and we see how utterly insuf- 
ficient it is to sustain the soul in its departure to 



86 st. peter's chain. 

meet God. We would not depreciate knowledge : 
it is good if sought as a qualification to useful- 
ness in the service of God. To allow our desire 
for knowledge, however, to carry us in pursuit of 
too many objects, or to lead us after those which 
are frivolous and worthless, is equally condemned 
by that spirit of soberness and moderation incul- 
cated by the word of God. 

Thirdly. The desire of esteem. The wish to 
have the good opinion of mankind is one to 
which no man who possesses the better feelings 
of our nature is a stranger. Abercrombie says, 
11 This is a principle of most extensive influ- 
ence, and is, in many instances, the source of 
worthy and useful displays of human charac- 
ter. Though inferior to the high sense of moral 
obligation, it may yet be considered a laudable 
principle : as when a man seeks the approbation 
of others by deeds of benevolence, public spirit, 
or patriotism : by actions calculated to promote 
the advantage or the comfort either of communi- 
ties or individuals. In the healthy exercise of it, 
a man desires the approbation of the good : in 



T I M P I It A N E . 87 

the distorted use of it, he seeks merely the praise 
of i party, or, perhaps, by deeds of frivolous or 
even vicious character, aims at the applause of 
;hose praise is worthless." 
The extreme iuto which this desire is apt to run 
is to be guarded against. One who disregards the 
esteem of others, as well as one who values it too 
highly, is liable to be ensnared. The first will 
cease to be controlled by those proprieties which 
characterize good society. He will become reck- 
less in the indulgence of all manner of immorali- 
ties, The other, again, will, under the slavery 
of this principle, be seduced from the walks of 
integrity and Christian high-mindedness. "The 
fear of man," says the Scripture, "bringeth a 
snare." Xow this fear may spring out of the 
too great desire to please. Men may even, for 
fear of offending others, or of exciting their 
contempt or ridicule, omit the observance of an 
important religious obligation : they may allow 
themselves to assume positions and to perform 
acts contrary to the dictations both of conscience 
and the Bible. The inordinate desire for the 



88 st. peter's chain. 

esteem of others undermines, like every other 
wrong principle, confidence in God. u How can 
ye believe who receive honor one of another?" 
They who seek this earthly honor soon get to 
undervalue the honor which cometh from above, 
and whatever withdraws the mind from God 
diminishes the strength of faith. "What deceit 
has been practiced, what false adulation indulged 
in, and what noble virtues sacrificed, at the insti- 
gation of this love of admiration ! 

It was to please Herod that the daughter of 
Herodias danced before him. And Herod, in 
order to please her, threw John the Baptist 
into prison, and cut off his head. The thirst for 
esteem has been the prolific source of a vast 
amount of the world's crime and misery. The 
Church of God has suffered from it. Some, to 
obtain it, have allowed themselves to be enticed 
iuto sin : to throw off all moral restraint, and 
even to turn the weapons of persecution against 
the truth of God. Christians, for the safety of 
themselves, and for the safety of the cause 
they have espoused, should not unduly value 






TEMPERANCE. 89 

the esteem of others. We should " seek to 

se others for their good to edification. " 

The desire foi God's approbation, and an abiding 

i of his presence, will never fail properly to 

regulate this principle. 

The desire of pleasure. This desire is uni- 
versal in the hearts of men. All are in search 
of those objects which they imagine afford happi- 
piness. It is under the influence of this desire 
that we are the most liable to run into excesses. 
To choose those objects with which rational and 
innocent pleasures are associated, and to enjoy 
them without abusing them — to make them con- 
tribute to our physical, and mental, and moral 
good — this is wisdom : this is temperance. Solo- 
mon says, u Hast thou found honey ? Eat so 
much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled 
therewith, and vomit it." A sufficiency of a law- 
ful thing is sweet and profitable. Beyond this, 
it frequently becomes nauseating and dangerous. 
The principle the wise man would teach is, a 
thankful and temperate enjoyment of earthly 
rings. The gifts of God, by a wise use of 
8* 



90 ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 

them, promote our happiness, and become to us 
the means of glorifying God; but the most ele- 
vated pleasures, in the excess, are soon found 
distasteful and injurious; fraught with disap- 
pointment when separated from the great end. 

In earthly pleasure we should never cease to 
remember how faint the boundary -line is be- 
tween the lawful and the unlawful. Sin, danger, 
ruin, begin on the extremity of virtue. " Our 
affections can never safely flow out to any object, 
unless they are primarily fixed on God. Then 
we may be sure not to offend either in the object 
or measure. No man can in God love whom he 
should not; nor immoderately love whom he 
should. This holy respect doth both direct and 
limit him, and shuts up his delights in the con- 
science of a lawful fruition/' 

Christian temperance consists in the use and 
not in the abuse of that which is lawful. It is 
the opposite of excess. It forbids drunkenness 
and gluttony, two evils which are not confined to 
those outside of the Church. Many professing 
the religion of Christ, the religion of self-denial, 



T ■ M VV. KA N OS. 91 

are unfortunately under their dominion. They 
br what the world is accustomed to com- 
mend as " good eating and good drinking." They 
/at her about those boards where are 
1 savory viands and sparkling wines, and, 
led on by an unbridled appetite, they too often 
to surfeiting and drink to inebriety. He who 
cats to dulness is a glutton, and he who drinks to 
excitement is a drunkard. Both are incompatible 
with the strict, the chaste, and holy discipline of 
Christianity. u When thou sittest/' says Solo- 
mon, "to eat with a ruler, consider diligently 
what is before thee ; and put a knife to thy 
it, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be 
»us of his dainties, for they are deceitful 
meat." 

How forcible this caution against indulgence of 
appetite ! u lf thou he a man of appetite" If 
thou hast formerly offended in this regard : if 
thou hast been intemperate in eating and drink- 
ing, now begin to practice abstinence : act as if 
a knife was at thy throat: mortify thy lust, and 
let not the dainties — deceitful meat — betray thee 



92 ST. PETER S CHAIN. 

into intemperance. Alas ! how many who have 
claimed to be the followers of Christ have fallen 
into these pitfalls of Satan ! Apprehensive of no 
danger, they have indulged their appetites to the 
loss of all spirituality. As Christians, we may 
learn to appreciate the danger of such indulgence 
by the fearful dissipations which cursed the Co- 
rinthian Church, and by the warning which the 
Saviour gave to his disciples. "Take heed," 
says he, "to yourselves, lest at any time your 
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunk- 
enness, and cares of this life; and so that day 
come upon you unawares." The ancient philo- 
sophers, at least many of them, gave sound ad- 
vice upon the subject of temperance in eating 
and drinking. It is said of Diogenes, that, meet- 
ing a young man who was going to a feast, he took 
him up in the street, and carried him home to his 
friends, as one who was running into imminent 
danger had he not prevented. " What would 
that philosopher have said, had he been present," 
says Addison, "at the gluttony of a modern 
meal ? Would not he have thought the master 



T i M V 1 : 11 A N C E . 93 

of the family mad ; and have begged his servants 
\v tied down his hands, had he seen him de- 
vour fowl, fish, and flesh, swallow oil and vinegar, 
wine and spices, throw down salads of twenty 
different herbs, sauces of an hundred ingredients, 
confections and fruits of numberless sweets and 
flavors? What counter-ferments must such a 
medley of intemperance produce in the body ! 
For my part, when I behold a fashionable table, 
set out in all its magnificence, I fancy that I see 
gouts and dropsies, fevers and lethargies, with 
other innumerable distempers, lodging in ambus- 
cade among the dishes/' 

The body is not the only sufferer in such ex- 
cesses : the mind is stultified under them, and the 
soul sensualized and contaminated. The whole 
being is unfitted for that rational and holy service 
which God demands of his creatures. Remember 
the injunction of the Scriptures : " Look not thou 
upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his 
color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 
At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth 
like an adder." 



94 st. peter's chain. 

The religion of Christ requires that we refrain 
not only from outward excess, but it enjoins the 
strict control of our passions and tempers. The 
God with whom we have to do u looketh at the 
heart. " And it is according to the moral condi- 
tion of the heart that he approves or condemns. 
David, under a sense of the exposure of his heart 
to the eye of God, prays, " Create in me a clean 
heart, God, and renew a right spirit within 
me." The Scriptures of God teach us that sin 
does not always consist in overt acts, but that sin 
and guilt originate in evil thoughts ; that adultery 
is a lustful look ; and that murder is the hatred 
of our brother. Our Saviour informs us that 
"Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, mur- 
ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false-witness, 
blasphemies/' Anger, pride, malice, revenge, 
lust, envy, all evil passions, desires, emotions, and 
affections, are inconsistent with that temperance 
which forms one of the ornamental graces of the 
Christian character. A life of self-denial is looked 
upon by some as a hard life; but they deceive 
themselves. Those who live a life of fleshly in- 



T E m r 1: R A NCE. 95 

dulgenee are the drudges. They lead a course of 
daily bondage to the most debasing appetites. 

d ]>yron somewhere says that " Habit is 
destiny." He knew well its power, its tyranny. 
Nothing but the omnipotence of Divine grace 
can control and destroy it. Think you that 
the libertine and drunkard can enjoy any real 
and solid happiness ? They might, if they had 
no conscience and no reflection, possess a sort 
of brute enjoyment, but their rational natures 
will not allow of such an enjoyment, and hence 
their very habits become to them a source of 
misery. Well may the wise man ask, " Who hath 
woe ? who hath sorrow ? who hath contentions ? 
who hath wounds without cause ? who hath red- 
ness of eyes ? They that tarry long at the wine : 
they that go to seek mixed wine." Well, too, 
may he warn against a course of libertinism, 
speaking of the strange woman : u Remove thy 
way far from her, and come not nigh to the door 
of her house : lest thou give thine honor unto 
others, and thy years unto the cruel : lest stran- 
gers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labors be 



96 st. peter's chain. 

in the house of a stranger; and thou mourn at 
the last, when thy flesh and thy body are con- 
sumed, and say, How have I hated instruction, 
and my heart despised reproof!" " Her house 
is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of 
death." He who is under the influence of de- 
praved habits is like the poor Gadarene, who was 
possessed with devils : they drive him about as a 
slave, and hold him "in durance vile :" and none 
but He who ejected those devils and restored the 
man to his right mind, can destroy these habits, 
and give liberty to their captive. 

Classify good and bad men according to their 
principles. Put Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, 
John, Paul, Luther, and Wesley together. Then 
put together Pharaoh, Ahab, Herod, Henry VIII., 
Voltaire, and Thomas Paine, and say on which 
side you would look for the greater happiness. 
Certainly not among the latter; for " there is no 
peace to the wicked ;" but among the former, for 
" Great peace have they which love thy law." 

A greater mistake was never made than to 
suppose that happiness is to be found in self- 



TEMPEKAN C E . 07 

indulgence. The opposite is true : happiness 
is found alone in the path of self-denial. lie 
who shuns this path must remain a stranger to 
the most exquisite enjoyment permitted to mortals 
on earth. How many are endeavoring to avoid 
the duty of self-denial and cross-bearing, with the 
vain hope of living a life of ease ! Alas ! they 
only find themselves the greater strangers to what 
they seek. Give to flesh and appetite all that 
they demand, and still, with a restless, longing 
dissatisfaction, they will cry, il Crive, give I" 

What is worldly greatness but a pest, and a source 
of disquietude ? This is shown in an anecdote 
which Lady Colquhoun mentions in her work on 
u The World's Religion/ ' and which was commu- 
nicated to her by her father, Sir John Sinclair. 
He was invited by a late eminent statesman, Lord 
Melville, then high in office, to spend New Year's 
day with him, at Wimbledon Common. He ar- 
rived there the day before, and in the morning 
repaired to the chamber of his host, to wish him 
a happy New Year. "It had need be happier 
than the last," replied Lord Melville; "for I can- 




98 st. peter's chain. 

not recollect a single happy day in it!" And 
this was the man who was the envy of many, 
being considered at the height of worldly pros- 
perity ! 

What says Paul ? "I take pleasure in infirm- 
ities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, 
in distresses, for Christ's sake." In another 
place, the apostle, after reciting a long catalogue 
of his sufferings, says, "As sorrowful, yet always 
rejoicing ) as poor, yet making many rich ; as 
having nothing, yet possessing all things." 

They who would have a clear mind and a quiet 
conscience, must practice a life of self-denial — 
temperance. " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things 
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever 
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, what- 
soever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of 
good report : if there be any virtue, and if there 
be any praise, think on these things." 

" So let our lips and lives express 
The holy gospel we profess : 
So let our works and virtues shine, 
To prove the doctrine all divine. 



TEMPERANCE. 



99 



M Thus shall wo best proclaim abroad 
The honors of our Saviour God; 
When the salvation reigns within, 
And grace subdues the power of sin. 

"Our flesh and sense must be denied, 
Passion and envy, lust and pride; 
While justice, temperance, truth, and love, 
Our inward piety approve. 

u Religion bears our spirits up, 
While we expect that blessed hope, 
The bright appearance of the Lord ; 
And faith stands leaning on his word." 




100 st. peter's chain. 



CHAPTER V. 

PATIENCE. 

The great importance of patience to Christ's disciples in stem- 
ming the opposition they have to meet — Causes of impatience — 
Several encouragements to patience considered — The poor Chris- 
tian with lockjaw. 

To temperance add patience. Our Saviour 
did not decoy men into his service under prom- 
ises of worldly riches and greatness. He did not 
tell them that if they would become his disciples 
he would secure them ease, fame, and power. 
He rather taught the reverse. True, he pointed 
to riches, honor, and glory, but they were to be 
obtained after this life, in a higher and brighter 
sphere. They were promised after a probation 
of suffering, toil, and cross -bearing. The pic- 
ture of suffering which the Saviour presented to 
his disciples as awaiting them, was fearful to 



PATIENCE. 101 

contemplate. From the 8th to the 19th verse 
of the 21st chapter of Luke, we have some of 
the trials which were to befall them set forth : 
arraignment before governors, accusations before 
councils, threatenings, persecutions, chastise- 
ments, imprisonments, betrayals, and parental 
and filial desertions. Yet. in view of all these 
things, the Saviour says to them, " In patience 
possess ye your souls/' What supplies of grace 
and inward strength did this injunction promise ! 

Let us consider the importance of patience in 
the service of God. The word itself is from a 
Latin word, which signifies to suffer. The pri- 
mary sense is, to hold out — continuance. It is 
the bearing, without fretfulness or murmuring, 
pain, affliction, toil, calamity, or other evils. 

Patience may spring from constitutional forti- 
tude or firmness, a kind of heroic pride, or from 
Christian submission or resignation to the Divine 
will. It is of this last that we desire just now 
to speak. None who have embarked in the 
service of God, and continued in it long, are 
insensible to the indispensablencss of this virtue. 
9* 



102 st. peter's chain. 

They have passed through scenes and have been 
surrounded by circumstances where they have 
deeply felt its need. The Christian cannot 
promise himself exemption from crosses in this 
world, since the Saviour has said, " In the world 
ye shall have tribulation." Yet this is not their 
sole inheritance here, for he adds, "In me ye 
shall have peace :" li Be of good cheer, I have 
overcome the world." The follower of Christ, 
then, must look to be jarred and jostled by con- 
tact with the world. He indeed is a new crea- 
ture, but the world remains unchanged ; and the 
very dissimilarity of nature which exists between 
him and the world produces an antagonism, a 
discordancy, which can never be reconciled. He 
is pledged by his profession never to come upon 
terms of intimacy with the world. The com- 
mand of our Saviour is explicit : " Love not the 
world." " Know ye not that the friendship of the 
world is enmity with God ? Whosoever, there- 
fore, will be the friend of the world is the enemy 
of God." The Christian is the follower of one 
whom the world hated. It refused him a recep- 



PATIENCE. 103 

tion as well as an entertainment. It never 
paused in its vindictive spirit towards him until it 
had put him to death. Nor has its hatred ceased 
with his death, but continues in unabated vio- 
lence. His name and doctrines are traduced, 
and his friends share with him in the world's 
hatred. The Saviour, in view of the suffering 
which his people would have to endure for his 
sake, exhorts them to the cultivation of the spirit 
of patience. 

The Christian has his share in the misfortunes 
which are common to our humanity ; and with- 
out patience he will be ill prepared to bear up 
under them. Among them we will mention a 
few which put to trial his patience. 

First, there is the loss of worldly goods. The 
good man's possessions are exposed to all those 
casualties and wasting agencies to which the 
property of the wicked is exposed. But the 
former has the advantage of the latter, in that 
he is never without some important compensa- 
tion, having grace to comfort him here, and a 
title to a blessed inheritance hereafter. 



104 



ST. PETERS CHAIN. 



Job, the holy man of Uz, was suddenly re- 
duced from the heights of affluence to the depths 
of poverty. Yet he could say, " The Lord gave, 
and the Lord hath taken away : blessed be the 
name of the Lord/' The Scripture speaks of 
those early Christians who suffered the spoiling 
of their goods, but the grace which God imparted 
to them enabled them to suffer such spoliation 
joyfully. 

Again, many Christians know nothing but 
poverty from their birth to their death. All 
their efforts to acquire a competency prove 
abortive. It is with extreme difficulty that 
they can clothe, feed, and shelter themselves. 
Satan is not backward to seize upon such a con- 
dition of things, and to turn them into torment- 
ing temptations. He seeks to irritate their souls 
and to stir them up to impatience, to distrust 
God, and to entertain hard thoughts of him. 
Those of our readers who have not been forced 
to look poverty full in the face, can but poorly 
appreciate the- distresses of those who have. 

The treachery of friends is sometimes a source 



PATIENCE. 105 

iiliction to the people of God. They find 
those upon whom they have fondly relied, prov- 
ing themselves false, seeking to undermine their 
reputation, and taking advantage of them in 
trade and otherwise. This is no insignificant 
and uncommon trial. And it is well for those 
who are subjected to it if they can "in patience 
possess their souls." 

Christians are liable to impatience from im- 
paired health. While in the world they are ex- 
posed to the vicissitudes of the seasons : to wet 
and dry, to cold and heat. They have physical 
organs which are liable to disease and to decay. 
A thousand health-destroying agents surround 
them. Many bear in their bodies those pains 
which are the sure premonitions of approaching 
death. This diseased condition of the body 
often acts injuriously upon the mind, producing 
depression and disquietude. The difficulty of 
maintaining a patient and resigned spirit under 
such circumstances is very great. 

The loss of friends by death is also a trial to 
which the patience of Christians is subjected. 



106 st. peter's chain. 

Those especially who are possessed of a social 
and affectionate nature, on the loss of loved ones, 
have a fountain of grief opened in their hearts 
which it is difficult to assuage. They are often 
like wounded harts, which desert the herd, to 
pine amid deep and solemn shades. They give 
themselves to thoughts of sorrow, and, like 
Kachel, pour out their lamentations, refusing to 
be comforted. It is well if such a state of feeling 
does not induce a morbid condition of mind, incom- 
patible with the spirit and duties of Christianity. 
There are many other trials by which the pa- 
tience of Christians is proved, but which we need 
not now specify. They have " fightings without, 
and fears within/' Thousands of unfriendly in- 
fluences are opposing their progress in piety, and 
hindering them from laying hold on eternal life. 
They are constantly in need of the spirit of watch- 
fulness and prayer, lest they become " weary, and 
faint in their minds. " It has been well said, 
" We must pray as if nothing depended on our- 
selves, and watch as if every thing depended on 
ourselves/' 



PATIENCE. 107 

Afflictions are a part of our inheritance. It 
Icon observed, "Adversity, like winter wea- 
ther, is of use to kill those vermin which the 
summer of prosperity is apt to produce and nou- 
rish." "However trees in the wilderness may 
grow without culture, trees in the garden must be 
pruned to be made fruitful; and cornfields must 
be broken up, when barren heaths are left un- 
touched/' An old writer says, "God had a Son 
without sin, but none without sorrow : he had a 
Son without corruption, but no son without cor- 
rection/' " Sanctified afflictions are spiritual 
promotions." Those children which are the most 
humored and indulged, are the least inclined or 
able to bear crosses. So those Christians who are 
pampered and caressed by the world, are poorly 
prepared to practice the self-denial and cross-bear- 
ing which Christianity demands. They grow 
impatient when duties are to be performed or 
burdens borne. Many hardly have enough of 
trials to entitle them to the name of children. 
" If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are 
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." 



108 st. peter's chain. 

But let us consider how we may comply with 
the injunction of the apostle, to add patience to 
the other Christian graces. May we not cultivate 
this virtue, so strengthen it, as that it may be- 
come a habit of the soul ? This idea is perhaps 
conveyed in the words of our Saviour : " In your 
patience possess ye your souls. " Here we are in- 
structed to seek that mental control by which we 
may preserve ourselves from corroding care and 
agitating fear. that we may catch that spirit 
of encouragement which these words of the Sa- 
viour are intended to afford ! 

How, then, may we cultivate this Christian 
virtue ? 

1. By having our confidence in Divine goodness 
increased, and by recognizing habitually God's 
providence over us. This will serve wonderfully 
to keep the mind tranquillized amid the various 
perplexities and crosses incident to our earthly 
sojourn. The prophet Isaiah felt that God was a 
sure foundation, upon which the soul might se- 
curely repose. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
peace whose mind is stayed on thee ; because he 



P AT 1 ENCE. 109 

trust- tli in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever; 
fur in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." 
I. They who have an abiding trust 
ire more than armed against their spirit- 
ual (ves. They can triumphantly say, " God is 
our refuge and strength : a very present help in 
t rouble.' ' The Christian may sometimes be 
forced with the Psalmist to cry out, " Why art 
thou cast down, my soul ? why art thou dis- 
quieted in me V* Yet, with the Psalmist, he 
shall lift up his head, and, with a reanimated 
soul, exclaim, U Hope thou in God ; for I shall 
yet praise him for the help of his countenance." 
This confidence in God led the Apostle Paul to 
be contented in all the varied conditions of life; 
for, says he, " I have learned, in whatsoever state 
I am, therewith to be content." 

The spirit of prayer is of great importance in 
acquiring patience of soul. Christians of all ages 
have realized its benefits in time of calamity and 
trial. In the midst of tossings, the good man 
says, while looking to God, " fteturn unto thy 
rest, my soul." There are peculiar trials, when 
10 



110 



ST. PETER'S CHAIN. 



the mind is so agitated that no reasoning can 
suffice to quiet it, and our only succor is to be 
found in approaching God in prayer. Then we 
grow patient and courageous, and can tread the 
path of duty, though it may be thronged with 
dangers. Jacob trembled at the thought of meet- 
ing the severe Esau ) yet after, by close and un- 
ceasing prayer, he obtained the grace he implored, 
he went forward to the interview without fear. 
How often, when our spirits have been over- 
whelmed within us — how often, when the waters 
of trouble have rolled threateningly around us, 
have we been made to cry out, " Master, carest 
thou not that we perish ?" when lo ! He who is 
mighty to save was at hand to rescue us and to 
allay our agitations. Paul, to the Philippians, 
says, " Be careful for nothing; but in every thing 
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, 
let your requests be made known unto God. And 
the peace of God, which passeth all understand- 
ing, shall keep your hearts and minds through 
Christ Jesus." 

2. They who would have an increase of pa- 



PATIENCE. Ill 

tience, must also seek for an increase of holiness. 
Why is it that Christians ever grow impatient ? 
It is, doubtless, from a want of a sufficient con- 
f.dence in God's willingness to help in the hour 
of need. And wherefore this want of confidence ? 
It beyond doubt often originates in a sense of 
unfaithfulness toward God. The trembling, anx- 
ious one feels that sin has separated between him 
and his God. A want of holiness has interrupted 
his communion, and a sense of condemnation pro- 
duces disquietude. " Brethren, if our hearts 
condemn us not, then have we confidence towards 
God/' A condemning conscience can afford no 
peace to the soul, because God also condemns; 
but an approving conscience is a fountain of 
peace, because God approves. Now, in order to 
secure the approval of God and our consciences, 
we must seek to live uniformly holy. This holi- 
ness will keep us in communion with God, and 
will increase in proportion to the nearness and 
constancy of that communion. With holiness of 
heart and communion with God, the soul is secured 
against fear and impatience. A child, when sepa- 



112 st. peter's chain. 

rated from its parent amid darkness and danger, 
is filled with alarm; but let it realize its parent's 
presence, and lay its little hand into its parent's 
hand, and its agitation ceases. So with the 
Christian. When he cannot realize the Divine 
presence, there comes over him a sense of weak- 
ness and exposure. But let him feel that his God 
is present with him, and his fears at once sub- 
side, and his soul becomes calm and courageous. 
Christian resignation or patience, then, can only 
grow out of union with and confidence in God ; 
and these can exist only in connection with holi- 
ness. The most patient have been the most holy, 
and the reverse. 

3. As an encouragement to patience, the Scrip- 
tures tell us to M look unto Jesus/' He not only 
teaches us patience in his discourses, but exhibits 
in his life the most beautiful example of it the 
world has ever witnessed. Who was so abased, 
so destitute, so comfortless as he ? " The foxes," 
said he, " have holes, and the birds of the air 
have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where 
to lay his head." Whose mission was so misun- 



PATIENCE. lit 

footood? whose motives were so impugned? 

whose wordfl were so perverted as his? His ene- 
mies, like tireless wolves, were ever upon his path, 
Witching for occasions to harass and to destroy 
him ; yet with what meekness and patience did 
he bear up under these trials ! " When he was 
reviled, he reviled not again : when he suffered, 
he threatened not; but committed himself to 
him that judgeth righteously/' 

Paul points us to him for encouragement. " Let 
us run with patience the race that is set before 
us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher 
of our faith ; who, for the joy that was set before 
him, endured the cross, despising the shame ; and 
is set down at the right hand of the throne of 
God." Keeping the eye of faith steadily fixed 
upon Christ, and following in his steps, will pre- 
serve the soul calm and unharmed amid the 
spiritual tempests and dangers through which 
pilgrims of Zion are called to pass. 

4. A contemplation of the lives of the emi- 
nently pious who have gone before us, is an en- 
couragement to patience. Read the examples of 
10* 



114 st. peter's chain. 

patient suffering in Hebrews xi. There you have 
before you those who, for the sake of Christ, en- 
dured the most terrible afflictions. They were 
mocked, tortured, stoned, sawn asunder. Others 
wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, 
dwelling in dens and caves of the earth, " desti- 
tute, afflicted, tormented :" u of whom," says the 
apostle, " the world was not worthy.' ' 

Thank God for this catalogue of suffering 
saints ! It shows us that the grace of God can 
sustain and comfort his people under the severest 
earthly trials. The noble apostle of the Gentiles 
was moved by the Spirit to write this chapter, 
and to draw this picture of saintly suffering and 
saintly triumph, for the encouragement of God's 
people in all time to come. " Seeing we are com- 
passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses," 
we are inspired with a mightier courage, and a 
more enduring patience to run the heavenly race, be- 
set though it be with perils and hardship. While 
we see the footprints of our Saviour, and of his suf- 
fering but now victorious ones who have gone before 
us, we can exultingly exclaim, with the sacred poet : 



PAT I I NO B. 115 

4 '0, what are nil my Bufferings here, 
It", Lord, thou count me meet 
With that enraptured host t' appear, 
And worship at thy feet!" 

Fifthly, if we would " possess our souls in 
patience/' we should habitually meditate upon 
the reward set before us — heaven. Paul found 
comfort in so doing. "For our light affliction, 
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory : 
while we look not at the things which are seen, 
but at the things which are not seen ; for the 
things which are seen are temporal, but the 
things which are not seen are eternal." He con- 
sidered his afflictions light, compared with that 
weight of glory (transcendent exaltation and 
bliss) which awaited him, and but for a moment 
compared to its endless duration. Why did 
Moses esteem the reproach of Christ greater 
riches than the treasures of Egypt? Because 
11 he had respect unto the recompense of reward." 
Why did he forsake Egypt, not fearing the wrath 
of the king? Because he " endured as seeing 
him who is invisible." We may well dwell 



B 



116 st. peter's chain. 

above all internal disturbance when we remember 
that the Saviour has " prepared a place' ' for us, 
and has said, " "Where I am, there shall ye be 
also." Who would cast away that " confidence" 
to which is promised a u great recompense of 
reward?" Can we distrust him whose word is 
pledged to afford his people guiding, comforting, 
and sustaining grace ? Has he said, " My grace 
is sufficient for thee?" Art thou trembling 
under a sense of thy weakness ? Dost thou feel 
that Satan and the world are combined against 
thee, and are plotting thy destruction ? Is the 
race before thee a rough and perilous one ? Art 
thou sometimes enveloped in darkness, bowed 
under manifold temptations, through ignorance 
involved in error ? Still confide in Him who 
says, " My grace is sufficient for thee." Wisdom, 
strength, comfort, victory in all difficulties, are 
promised in these words. What have they to 
fear who have the all-wise, the all-good, and the 
almighty One as their guide and defender? Did 
he not pluck the Israelites out of the hands of 
the persecuting Pharaoh, and, amid wilderness 



TATIENCE. 117 

nduct them safely to the land which 
he had promised them through Abraham ? Did 
he not shield his servant Daniel and the He- 
children against pagan wrath ? Did he 
in later times, in answer to the prayer of his 
Church, dispatch an angel to unchain Peter, and 
to deliver him from prison and from the expecta- 
tion of the Jews ? And shall we fear what man 
and Satan can do unto us while having such a 
God to trust in? We may exultingly exclaim, 
with the Psalmist, " Our God is the God of sal- 
vation." His saving power shall encompass 
his people throughout their earthly journeyings, 
and bring them to their promised rest in heaven. 
He who trusts in God has nothing to lose but 
sin and hell j but all that is glorious to gain. 
Jleaveu, as the consummation of a holy life, the 
reward of faith through the merits of Christ, is 
enough to preserve the soul from all impatience 
and disquietude. He who can trust in God's 
promises with all his heart will be raised above 
all repinings. We have this fact exemplified in 



118 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



the lives of the apostles, as well as in the lives 
of many modern Christians. 

Dr. Gregory, of the Royal Military Academy, 
in an address before the Bible Society in Eng- 
land, related an incident strikingly confirmatory 
of this truth. At the request of a benevolent 
woman, he visited an indigent man. "On enter- 
ing the cottage/' says he, " I found him alone, 
his wife having gone to procure him milk from a 
kind neighbor. I was startled at the sight of a 
pale, emaciated man, a living image of death, 
fastened upright in his chair by a rude mechan- 
ism of cords and belts, hanging from the ceiling. 
He was totally unable to move either hand or 
foot, having, for more than four years, been en- 
tirely deprived of the use of his limbs, yet the 
whole time suffering extreme anguish from the 
swellings at all his joints. 

"As soon as I had recovered a little from my 
surprise at seeing so pitiable an object, I asked, 
'Are you left alone, my friend, in this deplorable 
situation V ' No sir/ replied he, in a touchingly 



PATIENCE. 110 

feeble tone of mild resignation, (nothing but his 
lips tnd Qjm moving while he spoke,) <I am not 
alone, for God is with me.' On advancing, I 
found the secret of this striking declaration, 
for his wife had left on his knees, propped with 
a cushion for the purpose, a Bible lying open at 
a favorite portion of the Psalms of David. I 
sat down by him and conversed with him. On 
ascertaining that he had but a small weekly 
allowance, certain, I inquired how the remainder 
of his wants was supplied. c Why, sir,'* said he, 
1 'tis true, as you say, seven shillings a week 
would never support us ; but when it is gone, I 
rely upon the promise I find in this book : 
" Bread shall be given him, and his water shall 
be sure/ ,J I asked him if he ever felt tempted 
to repine under the pressure of so long-continued 
and heavy a calamity. ' Not for the last three 
years/ said he : ' blessed be God for it/ — the eye 
of faith sparkling, and giving life to his pallid 
countenance, while he made the declaration; — 
1 for I have learned in this book in whom to be- 
lieve; and though I am aware of my weakness 



120 ST. peter's chain. 

and unworthiness, I am persuaded that he will 
never leave me nor forsake me. And so it is. 
that often, when my lips are closed with lockjaw, 
and I cannot speak to the glory of God, he 
enables me to sing his praise in my heart.' 

" This and much more," continues the Doctor, 
"did I hear during my first visit; and in my 
subsequent visits, (for I am not ashamed to say 
that often, for my own benefit, have I gone to 
the cottage of this afflicted man.) I generally 
found him with his Bible on his knees, and uni- 
formly witnessed the like resignation flowing 
from the blessing of God upon the constant 
perusal of the Holy Scriptures. He died with a 
hope full of immortality, and is gone to the rest 
that remaineth to the people of God. And gladly 
would I sink into the obscurity of the cottage, 
gladly would I languish in the same chair, could 
I but enjoy the same uninterrupted communion 
with God, be always filled with the same 
strong consolation, and always behold, with equal 
vivid perception before me, the same celestial 
crown." 



PATIENCE. 121 

In this example we see what patience confi- 
dence in God can implant in the soul. Nothing 
short of this confidence could have sustained 
this poor man in the midst of such excruciating 
and protracted suffering. Thus we learn, to pos- 
sess patience we must possess God. 

Dear reader, are you seeking to add patience 
to your other graces? Are you committing 
yourself and all your earthly and eternal interests 
to God ? Seek to do this, if you would preserve 
a tranquil soul. 

"BE YE PATIENT." 

"Beside the toilsome way, . 
Lowly and sad, by fruits and flowers unblest, 
Which my worn feet tread sadly, day by day, 
Longing in vain for rest, 

"An angel softly walks, 
With pale, sweet face, and eyes cast meekly down ; 
The while, from withered leaves and flowerless stalks, 
She weaves my fitting crown. 

"A sweet and patient grace, 
A look of firm endurance true and tried, 
Of suffering meekly borne, rests on her face, 
So pure, so glorified. 

11 



122 



ST. PETERS CHAIN. 



"And when my fainting heart 
Desponds and murmurs at its adverse fate, 
Then quietly the angel's bright lips part, 
Murmuring softly, ' Wait ! ' 

" 'Patience!' she sweetly saith — 
* The Father's mercies never come too late ; 
Gird thee with patient strength and trusting faith, 
And firm endurance — wait!' 

"Angel ! — behold — I wait — 
Wearing the thorny crown through all life's hours, 
Wait till thy hand shall ope the eternal gate, 
And change the thorns to flowers." 




GODLINESS. 123 



CHAPTER VI. 

GODLINESS. 

What it id not— Baptismal regeneration — What godliness is — Evi- 
dences of increasing godliness — Evils of the theatre, novels, 
ball-room — The profitableness of godliness — Living nearer to 
God, etc. 

Add to patience godliness. Godliness does 
not consist in saying, u Lord, Lord :" does not 
rest in formal services and Pharisaical observ- 
ances : not in any outward appearances ; but it 
is a principle of holiness in the heart, implanted 
therein by the operation of the Spirit of God. 
It includes that change which is theologically 
termed regeneration. Some people hold to the 
doctrine of " baptismal regeneration/'* or a re- 
newal of heart by baptism. This doctrine is so 

* See this subject discussed in "Summers on Bap- 
tism." 



124 



ST. PETERS CHAIN. 



absurd and antiscriptural, that it is strange that 
any person could receive it. Yet it is neverthe- 
less so. The mistake in the reception of this 
dogma lies in attaching an undue importance 
both to the ordinance and to the administrator. 
The ordinance, instead of being what it is — a 
means of grace — becomes, in the hands of the 
supposed successor of the apostles, grace itself; 
or else they suppose that grace, through the ad- 
ministrator, is imparted to the subject. 

Paul never assumed to himself this power of 
regenerating souls. In his Epistle to the Co- 
rinthians, he says, " I thank God I baptized none 
of you but Crispus and Gaius ; lest any should 
say I had baptized in mine own name. And I 
baptized also the house of Stephanas : besides, I 
know not whether I baptized any other. For 
Christ sent me, not to baptize, but to preach the 
gospel." If any person were likely to know the 
efficacy of this rite in regenerating the soul, Paul 
was that person. Or if any person, by superior 
qualifications in the ministry, could add any sav- 
ing power to this rite, Paul had these qualifica- 



(i oDi.i M ess. 125 

tions. Yet he appears to have been ignorant of 
both. lie felt that his chief business was to 
preach the gospel. Could he have saved souls 
by adm 'mistering baptism alone, then he might 
have omitted the preaching of the gospel, and 
gone everywhere baptizing. 

We do not intend to lower the dignity of this 
sacrament : we would give it that position in the 
Christiau system assigned it in the Scriptures. 
It is to be regarded as the door of initiation into 
the Church. In submitting to it, we make a 
public profession of our faith in Christ as our 
Saviour, and it becomes the badge of our disci- 
pleship. That pardoning and regenerating grace 
is sometimes given to a person in the act of re- 
ceiving baptism, will not be denied; but this 
grace comes from the Spirit of all grace, and not 
from the minister. Faith takes hold of Christ 
through baptism, as a means of grace, just as it 
would take hold of him through any other means 
of grace — prayer, the eucharist, the Bible, the 
preached word. 

In the case of Cornelius the centurion, we find 
11* 



126 



st. peter's chain. 



that he received the Holy Ghost before his bap- 
tism. So also did those who were present with v 
him to hear Peter. As this apostle preached, it 
is said " the Holy Ghost fell on all them which 
heard the word." And as an evidence of it, they 
spake with tongues, and magnified God. "Then 
answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that 
these should not be baptized, which have received 
the Holy Ghost as well as we ? And he com- 
manded them to be baptized in the name of the 
Lord." Here, then, the Holy Ghost did his 
work without the imposition of apostolic hands. 

Again, we have in the Acts of the Apostles 
an example of one who received no spiritual 
benefit, although the hands of an apostle were 
laid upon him in baptism. This was Simon, the 
sorcerer. Philip baptized him, and " he con- 
tinued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the 
miracles and signs which were done." He pro- 
posed to purchase of the apostle the power of 
imparting the Holy Ghost. Peter, who had 
come down to Samaria, reproved him, declaring 
to him that his heart was not H ri°;ht in the sight 



O0DLINIS8. 127 

of God. Repent, therefore, of this thy wicked- 

. ami pray God, if perhaps the thought of 

thy heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive 

that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the 

; of iniquity." 

Here, then, was an apostle who administered 
the rite of baptism, and yet the subject, accord- 
ing to the testimony of Peter, possessed a heart 
a not right in the sight of God," and remained 
in the u gall of bitterness, and in the bond of 
iniquity." Now, both of the examples which 
are here cited, make against the strange doctrine 
of ''baptismal regeneration." Cornelius was re- 
newed without baptism, and Simon was baptized 
without being renewed. We have no need of 
substituting baptismal fonts and purgatorial fires 
for the "blood of Christ." This, the word of 
God teaches us, u cleanseth from all unright- 
eousness." 

The instrument through which the saving 
power of the Spirit is exerted, is the word of 
truth. Hence, we read, " Born not of cor- 
ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word 



128 st. peter's chain. 

of God, which liveth and abideth for ever/' 
Philip preached the word to the eunuch : Paul 
preached it at Athens and Rome, and souls were 
converted. The word was preached by Peter on 
the day of Pentecost, when so many were enabled 
to believe. We shall find, in reading the Acts 
of the Apostles, that the conversions of the mul- 
titude recounted there, were effected through the 
word. We do not affirm this to be the only in- 
strumentality which the Holy Ghost employs to 
save men; but we say it is the ordinary, the 
chief one. 

Godliness not only includes regeneration, but 
justification, and its consequent fruit. " There- 
fore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God, through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom 
also we have access, by faith, into this grace, 
wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the 
glory of God." Paul to the Corinthians, says, 
" Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
and by the Spirit of our God." The Spirit en- 
lightens, convicts of sin, reveals Christ and his 
atonement as the ground of pardon, encourages 



GODLINESS. 129 

faith to shelter there, and then seals the pardon 
upon the heart, filling it with holy joy. Hence, 
\\v read in the Scriptures of the " renewing of 
the Holy Ghost:" of "being sanctified by the 
.Holy Ghost." 

Here, then, is the origin of that godliness 
which is under discussion. It begins with the 
ehange of heart which takes place in the moment 
of the soul's espousal to God. But those ad- 
dressed by Peter were Christians; and when he 
exhorts them to add godliness to their other 
graces, we are not to suppose that he means 
they are to seek the regeneration of their souls, 
but rather that they must "grow in grace" — in- 
crease in godliness. In a word, he is encourag- 
ing the people of God to move forward to higher 
attainments in holiness. The Scriptures every- 
where urge upon the Christian a " continuance 
in well-doing/' and the strengthening of those 
spiritual gifts bestowed upon us, by avoiding sin, 
and " watching unto prayer." 

The threatenings, the admonitions, the pro- 
mises of the Divine word, all have this in view. 



130 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



We are to " earnestly contend for the faith which 
was once delivered unto the saints." " Stand 
fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving toge- 
ther for the faith of the gospel." We should be 
like David, when he exclaims, " God, thou art 
my God : early will I seek thee : my soul thirst- 
eth for thee : my flesh longeth for thee : my soul 
followeth hard after thee. 7 ' Here is a soul mov- 
ing toward God as its true centre ; following 
after him as its chief good ; crying, as it looks 
up, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and 
there is none on earth that I desire beside thee." 
The godly soul disdains the sickly pleasures and 
gaudy toys of earth, and fixes its gaze upon the 
imperishable treasures of the skies. It "counts 
all things but loss for the excellency of the know- 
ledge of Christ," 

Let us notice some of the evidences of a 
healthy, increasing godliness. For as we may 
know when God, for Christ's sake, pardons our 
sins and adopts us into his family, so we may 
know when we are u growing in grace." 

There will be an increasing hatred of sin 



GOD LI N ESS. 131 

The individual who is really advancing in piety 
ha< no disposition to indulge in any sin. It mat- 
not with him who loves it or smiles upon it, 
'udenins it as that abominable thing which 
hates. If such a one should be overtaken 
in a fault, he does not justify himself in it, by 
pleading the imperfection of his nature, or by 
pointing to weak and defective professors, but 
before God deplores his departure from him, and 
entreats him, with tears of contrition, to pardon 
his sin, and to " restore unto him the joys of his 
salvation.' ' 

Again, there will be a groicing indifference to 
Uy pleasures. As religion in the soul in* 
the love of the world decreases. The 
hold of the world upon the affections of such a 
soul goes on relaxing until it becomes disentan- 
gled from its influence, emancipated from its fatal 
sorcery, and can soar away heavenward upon the 
wings of a vigorous and rejoicing faith. 

When we observe professors of the religion 
of Christ courting the pleasures of sense, and 
pursuing the gay and fashionable world, we may 






132 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



know that their faith is weakening, and that the 
decay of their spiritual life has begun. We feel 
sad when we call up the hour of their conversion, 
when God gave them pardon and peace, and 
adopted them into his family. We are ready to 
ask, Can they forget that hour and their protesta- 
tions of love to God, and go back to the bondage 
of sin and to the road of destruction ? Ah, how 
many have we seen withering like some beautiful 
tree whose roots are gnawed by devouring worms. 
They have barely borne the flowers, much less 
the fruits of piety, ere they begin to languish and 
die. The neglected Bible, the deserted closet, 
and their longings after earthly joys, point to a 
fatal and unhappy end. 

The theatre, the ball-room, and novels, are 
among the snares which Satan, the cunning 
fowler, has with too much success set for religious 
professors. They have perhaps heard the first 
spoken of as a school for the cultivation of taste, 
and of the fine arts. Again, it has been said in 
their hearing that the theatre has a moral ten- 
dency, by exposing the vices of human nature 



GODLINESS. 

Hon The vices of human nature may be 

exposed, but not with the view of teaching mo- 
rality and bettering the hearts of those who wit- 
- the exposure; but rather for the purpose of 
Lng for them, and conciliating towards 
them the feelings of the spectators. If we 
wished to harden a man and make him tolerate 
vice in all its fornis, we could hardly more effect- 
ually do it than by urging him to frequent the 
theatre, and gaze upon the nightly spectacle of 
murder and bloody assassination — upon virtue 
bleeding in contempt, and vice triumphing amidst 
friends. Here all his worst passions would be 
excited by listening to the vulgarisms of seducers 
and libidinous lovers. Here he would hear 
from lewd actors, in the language of ribaldry and 
blasphemy, religion, the ministry, and virtue 
abused. A school of morality ! Did the world 
ever hear of anybody's being converted by at- 
tending a theatre, or made more virtuous by it? 
"Who uphold it by their patronage ? For the 
most part the licentious of the community. Do 
the actors exhibit morality in their lives ? Do 
12 



134 st. peter's chain. 

they read the Bible, attend upon the services of 
the sanctuary, and aid in the conversion of the 
the world ? No, no ! Then let those blush who 
advocate an attendance upon the theatre upon 
the plea of its moral tendency. Aristotle, So- 
crates, Plato, and Ovid — yea, Rousseau, the infi- 
del, have spoken against theatres, as schools of 
corruption and vice; and surely Christians can 
never fall so far below heathens and infidels as 
to call that innocent which they pronounce 
vicious. It is reasonable to suppose that Mac- 
ready, who once stood at the head of the list 
among actors, should know the influence which 
they exert. It is said that he retired from the 
stage to live quietly in the bosom of his family ; 
and, among other rules for governing that family, 
there is one from which he never deviates : 
"None of my children/' says he, "shall ever, 
with my consent, or on any pretence, enter a 
theatre, or have any visiting connections with 
actors or actresses/' Let those who would live 
godly lives shun these sinks of pollution. That 
professor who gets his consent to visit them has 




GODLINESS. 135 

already halted on the way to heaven and turned 
backward. 

The ball-room, like the theatre, contains an 
atmosphere poisonous to piety. Here many have 
lost their title to heaven, and have crucified the 
>ur and put him to an open shame. Some 
venture to advocate dancing as an important 
accomplishment. But we question whether it 
has ever contributed in the least to the happiness 
of any individual or household. We believe 
that no man has ever loved his wife the better for 
being an accomplished dancer. But many a man 
has had his heart ache from being the husband 
of such a wife. She has kept her husband's 
purse emptied by her extravagances, and his 
patience thread-bare by her abandonment of 
home and home responsibilities for the pleasures 
of the ball-room, and for the society of others. 
Such a husband is to be pitied, and so are those 
children who have fallen into the hands of such 
a mother. 

It is afflicting to know that there are certain 
parents professing godliness who allow, rather 



136 st. peter's chain. 

who encourage, their children to dance by sending 
them to schools gotten up for that purpose. A 
teacher of dancing opens his rooms with an ad- 
vertisement of rates of tuition, etc., and closes 
by stating that the morals of the pupils will be 
particularly guarded. This last is thrown in, 
doubtless, to catch the pious. But what do 
dancing-masters care for morals ? If they felt so 
solicitous for the morals of the children, they 
would give up their trade. The truth is, they 
are proverbial for their Sabbath-breaking, swear- 
ing and drinking propensities. These are the 
last characters with whom children should be 
permitted to associate. 

It is said of Timothy, that he knew the Scrip- 
tures from a child, and that they were taught 
him by his mother and grandmother. It would 
add nothing to the beauty of his character, nor 
would it reflect any honor upon his pious instruct- 
ors, had it been stated in connection with his 
religious training, that he knew how to dance 
from a child. To say of some men that they 
were fine dancers would be at once to undignifv 






GODLINESS. 137 

them. It would sound as a poor compliment to 
BftOOBj Newton, Franklin, or Washington, to say 
that they danced well. 

Mahj religious parents, after having encour- 
I their children to engage in these exercises, 
have lived to see them grow up and die without 
any religion. Indeed, our observation has proved 
to us that the children thus indulged seldom 
become pious. If they join any church, it is 
generally one whose lax discipline will offer no 
hindrance to their worldliness. Instructing chil- 
dren to dance interferes with their mental and 
moral culture. There is something so fascinating 
about it, something so consonant to their na- 
tures, that it absorbs them, soul and mind, and 
they care to talk and think about nothing else. 
If religious influences are thrown around them, 
these are neutralized by this passion. They soon 
get to dread the society of ministers and pious 
people, because they imagine them opposed to 
this amusement. 

It is a worldly accomplishment at best, and the 
Scripture says, u Be not conformed to this world." 
12* 



138 st. peter's chain. 

In proportion as you magnify this world in the 
estimation of the young, in the same proportion 
do you diminish the magnitude and importance 
of eternal things. Hence the frequent warnings 
in the Bible against loving the world : " Know 
ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity 
with God V\ Yet it is the aim of many parents 
to teach their children to please the world. 
They have them trained after worldly models, 
and cultivate in them fashionable tastes. The 
result is generally hurtful to their children. It 
makes them artificial characters : enervates their 
minds : leads them to become extravagant in 
dress | to waste time ; to shun the society of the 
sober and wise, for that of the gay and frivolous. 
How important for all parents professing to be 
the followers of Christ to withdraw their children 
from such influences, and to form the resolution 
of Joshua : "As for me and my house, we will 
serve the Lord." No other course is compatible 
with a godly obedience. Faithful Abraham 
guided his family in the fear of the Lord, and 
the Lord commended him for it. He says of 



(iODLINESS. 139 

him, u For I know him, that he will command 
his children and his household after him, and 
they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice 
and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon 
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." 

W« shall not stop to notice the evil influence 
which novels have had upon the piety of many. 
Suffice it to say that they have been the prolific 
S'jiirce of great spiritual distempers, producing 
mental dissipation, and a distaste for the Holy 
Scriptures, which have resulted in fearful apos- 
tasies. 

The Christian who is anxiously endeavoring to 

his soul will avoid the very appearance of evil. 

Worldly pleasures will be insipid and uninviting. 

Another evidence of increasing godliness is a 
growing fondness for the services of God's house. 
Payers, its songs, its ordinances will be sweet 
to the growing Christian. He will have the spirit 
of David : " I was glad when they said unto me, 
Let us go into the house of the Lord." "If I 
forget thee, Jerusalem, let my right hand for- 
her cunning. If I do not remember thee. 



140 st. peter's chain. 

let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; 
if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy/' 

Another evidence of growing piety is a desire 
for the companionship of God's people, especially 
those who are decidedly pious. We will seek to 
derive benefit from their example and their con- 
versation, and can say, like the Psalmist, " I am 
a companion of all them that fear thee, and of 
them that keep thy precepts." 

Again, a growing piety will show itself in a 
" hungering and thirsting after righteousness." 
The soul will pray, in the language of Moses, " I 
beseech thee, show me thy glory." With this 
desire there will exist a readiness to obey God in 
whatever he commands : a burning zeal to pro- 
mote the cause of truth, to aid in the salvation 
of souls. 

Such are some of the characteristics of that 
godliness which we are exhorted to possess. He 
who is possessed of it is rich indeed; for it is 
written, " Godliness is profitable unto all things, 
having promise of the life that now is, and of that 
which is to come." 



GODLINESS. 141 

There are many who delay the embracing of 
the religion of Christ, for fear of its interfering 
with some of their worldly projects and schemes, 
projects and schemes are dishonor- 
able and sinful, this religion will by no means 
ite them; but if they are worthy and proper, 
then it will interpose no obstacle, but rather in- 
sure success. 

Godliness procures those temporal blessings 
which the world prizes and seeks after. 

It is promotive of health. It is known that 
Be follows excesses. We should be astonished, 
if diseases could be traced back to their causes, 
to find what a large proportion of their number 
have originated in habits of dissipation. Now, it 
is the object of religion to correct these habits, 
and to lead men to be sober and temperate in all 
_s. In forbidding all excesses, it would pre- 
vent not only the infraction of the moral law, but 
of those great physical laws which God has im- 
pressed upon our natures. Those who lead disso- 
lute lives, sin not only against moral but against 
physical law, and therefore pay the penalty in 



142 st. peter's chain. 

the loss of health. The mental, physical, and 
moral constitutions all become diseased, and break 
down, under a course of sin. Keligion is a 
great hygienic principle, and comes to restore 
man to health, and to keep him in health, by 
prescribing to him a course of moderation and 
temperance in all things. 

Godliness is promotive of health further, be- 
cause it relieves the mind of corroding cares. 
That much disease has originated from this cause, 
is beyond question. Yea, death itself has followed 
it. U The sorrow of the world," says the Scrip- 
ture, " worketh death/' It belongs to our holy 
religion to relieve the mind from its burdens, and 
to quiet its agitations. It says to it, " Peace, be 
still." It points the soul up to God, and says : 

"No profit canst thou gain 
By self-consuming care : 
To Him commend thy cause : his ear 
Attends the softest prayer." 

Peter says, " Casting all your care upon him, 
for he careth for you." Isaiah: "Thou wilt 



GODLINESS. 143 

keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
on thee." 

It promotes to honor. It leads a man to be 
courteous, kind, and upright in his intercourse 
with the world; and thereby secures the good- 
will and respect of all whose friendship is of any 
value. The religion of Christ has nothing in it 
incompatible with the strictest rules of politeness. 
It carries in itself the very spirit of true polite- 
ness, which consists, not in the observance of a 
worldly etiquette, but in a feeling of benevolence 
toward others, and readiness to contribute to their 
comfort. Peter enjoins it upon his brethren to 
be courteous. Paul says, " Be kind one to an- 
other; tender-hearted. " He himself was a spe- 
cimen of good -breeding. No man who obeys 
the teaching of God's word can fail to be re- 
spected. " Him that honoreth me," saith the 
Lord, "I will honor." Godliness implants in 
the heart those dispositions which make up amia- 
bility; which give to character that moral sym- 
metry and worth which cannot fail to elicit ad- 
miration. 



144 st. peter's chain. 

Again : it secures success in business. Godli- 
ness is opposed to idleness and profligacy, the 
cause of so much misery and poverty. It encour- 
ages industry and frugality. The word of God, 
while it commands the observance of the Sabbath, 
enjoins labor on the six days. Its language is, 
" Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." 
Paul, to the Romans, couples worldly and spiritual 
industry together : " Not slothful in business ) 
fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." The 
Psalmist says, " Both riches and honor come of 
thee." Even godliness, without earthly riches, 
is a treasure within itself, and compensates for 
the want of earthly ease and luxuries. If an 
individual is poor, how much better can he en- 
dure poverty, if he possesses an approving, con- 
science, peace with God, and a title to an endless 
and heavenly inheritance ! But it is true, as we 
have said, that godliness secures worldly success, 
in that it encourages good habits. Find a com- 
munity of consistent Christians, and you will 
find an industrious, frugal, generous, and happy 
people. 



(JODLINESS. 145 

But godliness has the promise not only of the 
blessings of "this life," but of "the life to 
come." Here it has the promise of "a good 
reputation, and an honored name when dead i" 
mfort in affliction :" "food and raiinent :" 
" support in old age and in death. " But it pro- 
mises blessings beyond the grave. It sustains the 
soul when beauty, wealth, honors, and friends 
fail. Infidelity promises no future happiness. It 
would even blot out the hopes of Christianity : 
rob the soul of all its comforts, and leave it to an 
uncheered and rayless passage into a world of 
gloom. But, thank God, our glorious religion 
illumines the valley of death, and introduces its 
possessor to an inheritance of glory and happi- 
ness. What that life to come is, we cannot now 
know; but it is in perfect contrast with this 
present life. This is one of toil, sorrow, and 
temptation : that is one of rest, peace, security. 

"Beyond this vale of tears 
There is a life above, 
Unmeasured by the flight of years, 
And all that life is love." 

13 






146 st. peter's chain. 

The truly godly man easily parts with the 
world for heaven. He has that spirit which was 
manifested in the remark of an eminent man. 
"At my death/ ' said he, " I mean to take a total 
adieu of the world, not caring for a monument, 
history, or epitaph : not so much as the memory 
of my own name to be found anywhere but in the 
universal register of God/' 

Reader, what is the condition of your heart? 
Do you find it humble before God, and full of 
love to him and to your neighbor ? Remember, 
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and 
with all thy strength. And thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself." Obedience to these com- 
mands constitutes true godliness. Let us seek to 
live nearer to God. 

" Nearer, my God, to thee — 

Nearer to thee! 
E'en though it be a cross 

That raiseth me: 
Still all my song shall be, 
Nearer, my God, to thee — 

Nearer to thee! 






GODMNKSS. 147 

"Though, liko a wanderer, 

The sun goes down, 
Darkness comes over me, 

My rest a stone ; 
Yet in my dreams I'd be 
Nearer, my God, to thee — 

Nearer to thee ! 

"Then let the way appear 

Steps unto heaven : 
All that thou sendest me, 

In mercy given: 
Angels to beckon me 
Nearer, my God, to thee — 

Nearer to thee ! 

"Then, with my waking thoughts 

Bright with thy praise, 
Out of my stony griefs, 

Bethel I'll raise: 
So, by my woes to be 
Nearer, my God, to thee — 

Nearer to thee! 

11 Or if, on joyful wing, 

Cleaving the sky, 
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, 

Upward I fly: 
Still all my song shall be, 
Nearer, my God, to thcc — 

Nearer to thee!" 



148 st. peter's chain. 



CHAPTER VII. 

BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 

The scriptural view of this subject — Brotherly love overflows 
party boundaries — The primitive Christians — Paul's illustration 
of Christian unity — A living Church. 

To godliness add brotherly kindness. This 
love which Christians are to cherish for each 
other is one of the fruits of that godliness of 
which we spoke in the preceding chapter. There 
can never exist this brotherly affe'ction where 
there is no genuine scriptural piety. Men may 
respect each other, perform offices of kindness 
for each other, they may even be strongly 
attached to each other, and have no religion; 
yet to possess this brotherly affection recom- 
mended by the apostle, requires the regeneration 
of our nature and a gracious state of soul. In- 
deed, it is one of the evidences of our being 



BROTH I II L Y KINDNESS. 149 

renewed in Christ. "We know/ 7 says John, 
" that we have passed from death unto life, be- 
lt we love the brethren." The carnal mind 
must be renewed before this love for Christians 
can occupy the heart; for the carnal mind, which 
is enmity against God, is enmity also to that which 
is like God — which bears his holy image. The 
ungodly may acknowledge the worth of the Chris- 
tian, may feel honored by his acquaintance, may 
do him an act of kindness ; yet he cannot possess 
for him that tender, sanctified attachment denom- 
inated "brotherly love." This love must be 
wrought in the heart through the operation of 
the Holy Spirit. He who loves a follower of Christ 
because he is such, gives a certain evidence of hav- 
ing received a like spirit. It is equally true, on 
the other hand, that a want of this love for the 
pious is the evidence of an unrenewed and an 
unenlightened soul. "He that loveth not his 
brother abideth in death." "Beloved, let us 
love one another; for love is of God ; and every 
one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth 
God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God ; for 
13* 



150 st. peter's chain. 

God is love. Herein is love : not that we loved 
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be 
a propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so 
loved us ; we ought also to love one another. If 
a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, 
he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, 
whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom 
he hath not seen ?" Here, then, we have pre- 
sented to us the source of this love : " Love is 
of God;" and the evidence it affords of our filial 
relation to God : " Every one that loveth is born 
of God and knoweth God." No man, destitute 
of this love to the brotherhood, can claim to love 
God, without bringing upon himself the charge of 
falsehood. He " abideth in darkness." He gets 
up at morn and lies down at eve in spiritual 
night: the "true light" has not shined into his 
heart. He is not only in darkness, but in death. 
He u abideth in death," an alien to God and to 
that new and divine life revealed in the gospel. 
Christ, the resurrection and the life, hath not 
spoken the word of quickening and salvation to his 
soul. He remains "dead in trespasses and sins." 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 151 

"Love the brotherhood" is tlio language 
of one who breathed the gospel spirit. Chris- 
tian love grows out of Divine love — that love 
which God sheds abroad in the heart. It 
can only exist in a renewed heart, for it is an 
affection or principle too refined and pure for an 
unregenerate heart. It flows out of and goes along 
with love to God. A person who has never been 
converted has no love for God, but, rather, cher- 
ishes against him a feeling of enmity; for the 
" carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not 
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 
The more men dislike God, the more they must 
dislike those who the most resemble him in the 
purity of their lives. On the other hand, those 
who have the greatest love for God will have this 
principle of brotherly kindness the most strongly 
and permanently fixed in their hearts. The 
Christian loves his Saviour, loves the virtues of 
his character, his meekness, his benevolence, 
and his spotlessness. And this love for his Sa- 
viour leads him to love all who resemble him. 
He discovers those traits of character in his 



152 st. peter's chain. 

brother which speak to him of Christ, and tell 
him that he too has " put on Christ/' and has 
a drunk into the same spirit' 7 with himself. 
Those who belong to the household of faith pos- 
sess a household affection : common sympathies, 
common interests, and common cares, unite their 
hearts ; and so long as they remain in this rela- 
tion to one another, so long will this affection 
exist. Their union increases their affection, and 
their affection strengthens their union. 

"Love the brotherhood." And who consti- 
tute this brotherhood ? Those alone who bow 
around the altars where I am accustomed to 
worship ? those who rally with me around the 
same denominational standard, and who sub- 
scribe to the same denominational creed ? Surely 
not. They may form a portion of that brother- 
hood, but do not constitute the whole of it. All 
who have been renewed and born of water and 
of the Spirit, and who have been engrafted by 
faith into Christ, and are branches of that holy 
vine, belong to this brotherhood. They may 
differ in color, in social position, in intelligence, 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 153 

and in wealth. They may differ in Christian 
experience. Some may have a weak faith, and 
some a strong faitb. Some may have but reached 
the first stage of a religious life ; others may 
have gone on and reached Christian perfection. 
Some may be babes, some young men, and some 
fathers in -Christ. Still, being in Christ, they 
make up but one family, and are entitled to my 
warmest affection. I am not to inquire, as a 
condition of giving them my love, Can they pro- 
nounce my sectarian shibboleth, and do they em- 
brace my creed ? No ; but do they love my Sa- 
viour, and are they his followers ? It is allowable 
for me to love my denomination better than oth- 
ers, to prefer above others its standards of theol- 
ogy, and its formularies of worship. Yet I am 
not to forget the fact that Christ has other sheep 
which are not of this fold to which I belong ; 
and that these (when he has at the last day 
divided the good from the wicked) will he bring 
with him where all distinctions shall be blotted 
out, and there shall be but one fold and one 
Shepherd. 



154 st. peter's chain. 

That love which we are to possess and to cul- 
tivate flows beyond all party boundaries, and ex- 
tends itself to all true saints. One well says, 
y When we love our own party exclusively ■, or 
persons only of our own peculiar train of think- 
ing, we love ourselves in them. We see our own 
image and admire it. But when we love those 
who differ from us in non-essentials, because we 
discover in them the humility, meekness, purity, 
patience, and benevolence of the Redeemer, then 
our love is truly Christian. It is Christ in them 
whom we love." Those who profess to be the 
disciples of Christ, for the most part, need more 
of this holy love — this love which binds heart to 
heart for Christ's sake : which seeks in others 
for Christ, and embraces those most warmly in 
whom they most discern him. It is sad to 
reflect upon the great want of this enlarged affec- 
tion among professing Christians : this affection 
which rests upon pure Christian principles. We 
hear it preached about in the pulpit, talked of in 
the Church : its excellence and beauty are highly 
extolled. But how few cultivate it and give it an 



BROTH i; 11 LY KINDNESS. 155 

abiding-place in their hearts ! Sometimes, on 
certain occasions of spiritual refreshing, we see 
evidences of its existence : it overleaps its usual 
enclosure, and takes in the Christian world; but 
when these glad seasons are ended, this love be- 
gins to lose its expansion and warmth, and to 
grow contracted and selfish. The word of God 
would have this principle of love, like every 
other holy principle, permanently fixed and ever 
strengthening in the heart. M Let brotherly 
love continue." " Be kindly affectioned one to 
another with brotherly love." How beautiful 
was the picture of love which was exhibited by 
the disciples on the day of Pentecost ! The sacred 
historian says, "And the multitude of them that 
believed were of one heart, and of one soul." 
We cannot withhold from the reader the remarks 
of the Rev. Lyman Coleman, in his " Christian 
Antiquities," on the mutual love and concord of 
the primitive Christians : 

"Among the various features in the character 
of the primitive Christians, there is none that so 
eminently claims our admiration as their mutual 



156 st. peter's chain. 

love. All the details transmitted to us of their 
social intercourse, and of their public conduct, 
bespeak the lively operation of this Christian 
spirit. And when we read of the delightful har- 
mony and concord that reigned in their assem- 
blies ; their ready disposition to render every one 
his due; the high, condescending to those of low 
degree } the poor, giving the tribute of their re- 
spect to those whom Providence had placed in a 
more exalted station ; and all vying, with amiable 
rivalry, to promote each other's happiness and 
welfare, we perceive the strong ground of the 
proverbial observation of the heathen : ' Behold 
how these Christians love one another V Not 
only when they were in small numbers, and, 
meeting together almost daily, were well known 
to each other, did this admirable affection prevail 
among them, but, how widely soever they might 
be separated, the ardor of their love suffered no 
diminution ; and, forgetting every other distinc- 
tion" in that of being the followers and friends of 
the Saviour, they sympathized in each other's 
joys and sorrows. Whatever blessing one of their 



B B I 11 K B L Y KIND N ESS. 157 

Qumber had received, was a subject of lively 
gratitude to ;ill; and whatever calamity bad be- 
fallen a single member, spread a gloom over the 
whole community. 

u Bound to each other by ties infinitely holier 
and dearer than any that belong to the world, 
they looked upon themselves as members of the 
same common family. Every time that they met, 
either in their own houses or in their public as- 
semblies, they interchanged the kiss, as a badge 
of fellowship and token of the warmest affection. 
Though totally unconnected by ties of consan- 
guinity, they addressed each other, according to 
their age and sex, by the name of father, mo- 
ther, brother, sister. Though naturally separated 
by distinction of rank and diversity of color, no- 
thing could cool the ardor or prevent the recipro- 
cities of their mutual love. The knowledge of 
the simple fact that any one was a follower of 
Jesus, changed him at once from a stranger to a 
friend ; creating a union between them not to be 
described by the cold, selfish friendship of the 
world ; and to them belongs the peculiar distinc- 
14 



158 st. peter's chain. 

tion of realizing a state of society which many 
philosophers had often delighted to picture to 
their fancy, and wished for in vain — the idea of a 
community united by no other bond than the 
golden chain of universal love." 

What a happy thing for the world, had this 
delightful state of things continued in the 
Church ! But, alas for poor human nature ! it 
yielded to the solicitations of evil. A lust for 
pleasure, for power, for riches, with false doctrine, 
crept into the sacred enclosures of the Church, 
and divisions and discords followed, and have re- 
mained until the present day; and it can no 
longer be said of the general Church, " Behold 
how these Christians love one another." 

When shall the spirit of contention cease, 
and the spirit of peace, and harmony, and bro- 
therly love return? Not until the Church has 
divorced itself from its unholy alliance with the 
world, and not until it has received a mightier 
anointing of grace, and drunk deeper into the 
spirit of its Divine Head., Then, and not till 
then, shall the Church fully obey Christ, who 



B R O T IT K R h Y KINDNESS. 159 

has said, u This is my commandment, That ye 
love one another, as I have loved you." 

This brotherly love in a Church can alone pre- 
serve its unity. "We have hinted at this unity, 
but wish to add a word more upon it. Its im- 
portance is plainly exhibited by the frequency 
with which it is mentioned in the Scriptures. 
" Behold how good and how pleasant it is for 
brethren to dwell together in unity ! It is like 
the precious ointment upon the head, that ran 
down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard : that 
went down to the skirts of his garments. " Ps. 
cxxxiii. 1. Our Saviour says, "Neither pray I 
for these alone; but for them also which shall 
believe on me through their word : that they 
all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and 
I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that 
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 
And the glory which thou gavest me, I have 
given them ; that they may be one, even as we 
are one." John xvii. 22. "I, therefore, the pris- 
oner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy 
of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all 



160 st. peter's chain. 

lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, for- 
bearing one another in love : endeavoring to keep 
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace/ ' Eph. 
iv. 1. 

"We might multiply passages from the word of 
God, bearing upon Christian unity; but the 
above are sufficient to show us the Spirit's teach- 
ing upon this subject. We have the Psalmist 
characterizing it as good and pleasant. It is good 
in principle, because it is the obeying of scrip- 
tural teaching; and good in its results, convin- 
cing those that are without that religion is true. 
This unity is pleasant, since it shuts out every 
element of discord, and binds heart to heart. 
Again, this unity is pleasant to contemplate, for, 
however the world may wrangle and contend, it 
can never cease to admire that spirit of concord 
and peace which reigns in the hearts of true be- 
lievers. The Psalmist compares it to oil, which, 
says Dr. Delany, u is, without question, the finest 
emblem of union that was ever conceived. It is a 
substance consisting of very small parts, which yet, 
by their mutual adhesion, constitute one uniform, 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 161 

well-united, useful body. The sacred oil carries 
the idea and advantage of union yet farther, which, 
being extracted from various spices, yet made up 
one well-cohering and more valuable compound." 
We see how the blessed Saviour regarded this 
uuity among his disciples, by the intercessory 
prayer which he offered up in their behalf. He 
prays that they may be one — not only they who 
were immediately associated with him — but all 
(including believers of all time) who should be- 
lieve on him through their word. One, as he 
and the Father are one : one in purity of heart 
and design, in affection, and labor : one, that the 
world might know that he was sent of the Fa- 
ther. This being " like-minded, having the same 
love, being of one accord, of one mind," is influ- 
ential for good upon the minds of gainsayers, 
convincing them of the truth of Christianity, by 
showing them that it has power to destroy the 
selfishness of human nature, to eradicate from the 
hearts of men all malign passions and low affec- 
tions, and to unite them in the love and pursuit 
of those objects which serve to promote their mu- 
14* 



162 st. peter's chain. 

tual good. The loving of one another, and the 
" bearing of one another's burdens/' prove the 
mission of Him whom they profess to obey and 
follow truly Divine ; for it manifests a spirit of 
disinterestedness which belongs not to the world, 
and can only find its origin in a being superhuman 
and Divine. 

Paul exhorts the Ephesians to the cultivation 
of those graces which were in keeping with their 
vocation, and to endeavor to u keep the unity of 
the Spirit in the bond of peace." Without this 
endeavor, they could make no progress in a life 
of piety, for where discord reigns there will be 
found every evil work. How did the holy apos- 
tle grieve over the divisions which rent in pieces 
the Corinthian Church ! He saw in them the 
works of the flesh, the spirit of the evil one; 
for, says he, "Ye are yet carnal; for whereas 
there is among you envying, and strife, and divi- 
sions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men V 7 He 
affectionately strives to unite them in love, by 
saying, "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak 



BEOT U E B L V K I N D N E B S . 1G3 

the same thing, and that there be no divisions 
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined to- 
gether in the same mind and in the same judg- 
ment." He illustrates the importance of Chris- 
tian unity by a striking similitude, taken from 
the mutual dependence of the various parts of 
the human body. These various parts all har- 
moniously unite, and form one complete body. 
" For the body is not one member, but many. 
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, 
I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the 
body ? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not 
the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not 
of the body ? If the whole body were an eye, 
where were the hearing? If the whole were 
hearing, where were the smelling? But now 
hath God set the members every one of them in 
the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they 
were all one member, where were the body? But 
now are they many members, yet but one body. 
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no 
need of thee : nor again the head to the feet, I 
have no need of you. Nay, much more those 



164 st. peter's chain. 

members of the body, which seem to be more 
feeble, are necessary. And those members of the 
body, which we think to be less honorable, upon 
these we bestow more abundant honor; and our 
uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. 
For our comely parts have no need; but God hath 
tempered the body together, having given more 
abundant honor to that part which lacked : that 
there should be no schism in the body ; but that 
the members should have the same care one for 
another. And whether one member suffer, all 
the members suffer with it ; or one member be 
honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now 
ye are the body of Christ, and members in par- 
ticular." "For as the body is one, and hath 
many members, and all the members of that one 
body, being many, are one body, so also is 
Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized 
into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
whether we be bond or free ; and have been all 
made to drink into one Spirit." Such are the 
powerful arguments which the apostle presents 
to enforce the propriety as well as necessity of 









BROTH EltLY KINDNESS. 1G5 

Christian unity. The diversity of gifts and of 
offices affords no ground for schism , but is ra- 
ther to be desired, as giving symmetry and com- 
pleteness to this spiritual body. Whatever social, 
spiritual, or intellectual differences may exist 
among its members, yet, having been " baptized 
by one Spirit into one body, and made to drink 
into one Spirit/' they become one in Christ, and 
members one of another. 

Nothing, then, can promote unity but this 
brotherly kindness, which we are exhorted to add 
to our other graces. And without this unity 
there can be no strength. Well did the great 
Washington understand the importance of union 
among the States of this confederacy, in order to 
its growth and perpetuity. Hence that signifi- 
cant and oft-repeated declaration of his : " United, 
we stand : divided, we fall." This is but the 
reiteration of the Saviour's sentiment : "A 
house divided against itself shall not stand." If 
all the people of God could present to the world 
an evidence of love and harmony among them- 
selves, the triumph of the truth would be 



166 st. peter's chain. 

placed beyond uncertainty; for then the world 
could no longer find ground to cavil at Christian- 
ity; its divinity would be a demonstration. The 
inefficiency of the Church has originated in its 
divisions and contentions, which have impaired 
its moral force and dimmed its glory. Had those 
who have been wrangling about doctrinal, gov- 
ernmental, and ritual differences, been " keeping 
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace/' 
then would the Saviour by this time have had a 
much larger inheritance among the heathen, and 
a more extended possession in the earth. 

With a view of cultivating this holy feeling 
and promoting this unity, as well as with a view 
of promoting the Kedeemer's. kingdom, Christ- 
ians should learn to sympathize with each other 
in their afflictions : to exercise towards each 
other the spirit of forbearance on occasions of 
disagreement. They should seek to contribute 
to each other's good, guard each other's interest, 
and pray for each other's spiritual prosperity. 
The love and pursuit of earthly objects, such 
as gold, fame, and pleasure, often become the 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 167 

occasion of discord among professing Christians. 
Their interests clash : their paths cross each 
other, and jealousies spring up. It is impossible 
for those who are inordinately attached to the 
world to possess in any high degree this broth- 
erly kindness; for the world, as it gains upon 
the heart, dries up its humanities and strength- 
ens the principle of selfishness. It usurps for 
itself the chief place in the affections, and 
claims the undivided homage of its worshippers. 
To keep, then, this holy affection warm, healthy, 
and growing, we must guard against this influ- 
ence of the world, and seek to drink deeper into 
the Spirit of Christ, who is in all things a pattern 
to his followers. 

This love must be sincere. John, who is called 
the beloved disciple — perhaps because of his 
affectionate disposition, for his very soul appeared 
to swim in love — in addressing the Church says, 
11 My little children, let us not love in word, 
neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." 
Let not our love rest alone in profession, but let 
it be practical. Let it not dwell merely upon 



168 st. peter's chain. 

the tongue, but let it abide in the heart. In a 
word, let us love "in deed and in truth. " This 
same sentiment we find in Paul's Epistle to the 
Romans : " Let love be without dissimulation." 
A spurious love, like spurious coin, may pass 
current for a while, but it cannot escape detec- 
tion. A love, to be enduring, must be sincere, 
and must occupy a heart cleansed by the Holy 
Spirit. No one can claim to love God who does 
not love his people ; for, says the Scripture, " He 
that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, 
how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?" 
Again, this love must be deep, like the love 
of Christ ; for, says he, " This is my command- 
ment, that ye love one another as I have loved 
you." Now, if you can fathom the depth of 
Christ's love, then you may have some concep- 
tion of that love we are called to possess for our 
brethren. Consider what the love of Christ led 
him to suffer and to do for us. 

" For love of us he bled, 
And all in torture died : 
'Twas love that bowed his fainting head, 
And oped his gushing side." 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 160 

u Hereby pereeive we the love of God, because 
he laid down his life for us; and we ought to 
lay down our lives for the brethren." Such love 
leads us to u bear one another's burdens," to 
overcome our selfishness and jealousies, and to 
do each other all possible good. " See," says 
Peter, " that ye love one another with a pure 
heart fervently." 

! if this sort of love united the hearts of all 
Christians, then would the " heavens cease to be 
as brass," and Zion cease to languish, and to 
hang her harp upon the willows; but she would 
go forth to meet her enemies, "fair as the 
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army 
with banners." Energy and triumph would 
characterize her ever onward march. Then 
Christ would walk amid the golden candle- 
sticks, and a celestial light would stream forth, 
so brilliant and intense that even error would be 
struck blind and forced to betake itself to flight. 
If we would have the sun to give out its strongest 
heat, we must focalize its rays through a pure 
and perfect lens. So if we would have the rays 

15 



170 st. peter's chain. 

of the Sun of righteousness to thaw the icy 
affections of mankind; to consume falsehood, 
and to kindle the fires of a holy love everywhere, 
we must let them shine through a pure and affec- 
tionate Church. This moral lens, if kept free 
from the breath and dust of selfishness, would 
concentrate such a burning heat upon the heart 
of the world as would at once melt it down into 
obedience and humility before God. 

Reader, hast thou diligently cultivated this 
love for the brethren, and art thou willing to bid 
all God-speed who love our Lord Jesus Christ in 
sincerity ? Let us pause, and pray for this holy 
love to be deepened in our hearts. 

"Our earthly ties are weak, 

Whereon we dare not rest ; 
For time dissolves and death will break 

The sweetest and the best. 
Yet there's a tie which must remain, 
Which time and death assault in vain* 

" The kindred links of life are bright, 

Yet not so bright as those 
In which Christ's favored friends unite, 

And each on each repose : 
Where all the hearts in union cling 
To Him, the centre and the spring. 



BROTHERLY KINDNESS. 171 

11 Tlio friends of Jesus, joined to think 

With one desire and aim, — 
A chain, wherein link answers link, — 

A heavenly kindred claim ; 
And ! how sweet, where in each mind 
A throb to echo theirs they find ! 

"Though lovely many an earthly flower, 

Its beauty fades and flies ; 
But they, unchanging, form a bower, 

To bloom in Paradise. 
Sprung from the true, immortal Vine, 
In Him they live and round Him twine. 

" Their bond is not an earthly love, 

By Nature's fondness nursed : 
As they love Him who reigns above, 

Because He loved them first, 
So they all minor ties disown — 
The sweetest — for his sake alone." 




172 st. peter's chain. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

CHARITY. 

The extent of this charity — Comment upon a part of 1 Corinthians 
xiii. — Quesnel quoted — Sir Isaac Newton — The widow of Muckle 
Harbor — "What charity has done, and may accomplish — Bright 
visions of the Church. 

Charity, or love, stands last in this catalogue 
of graces which we are encouraged to cultivate. 
Though last, it is not the least ; for, among the 
graces, it may be regarded as the crowning one 
of all. True scriptural charity may be understood 
as involving the whole spirit of Christianity. It 
is included in that brotherly kindness which has 
just come under consideration; yet it is more 
extensive in its range and ampler in its embrace 
than brotherly kindness. That has somewhat of 
a specific or limited character : this has a general, 
unlimited character. That encloses in its arms 



CHARITY. 173 

all the spiritual family of God : this not only 
takes in those, but those who are strangers to the 
household of faith. In a word, it takes in the 
whole world of mankind, and seeks to do them 
only good. 

The Apostle Paul well knew the worth of 
charity ; " For/' says he, " now abideth faith, 
hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of 
these is charity. " Perhaps we cannot have a 
clearer and a more comprehensive description of 
charity than that which is furnished us in 1 Cor. 
xiii. : M Charity [love] suffereth long, and is kind: 
charity envieth not : charity vaunteth not itself; 
is not puffed up ; doth not behave itself unseemly; 
seeketh not her own; is not easily provoked; 
thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 
rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believ- 
eth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all 
things. " 

"Charity suffereth long: is not easily pro- 
voked." It is free from irritability and petu- 
lancy. It enables us to bear the neglects and 
slights of others, without wishing to retaliate 
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174 st. peter's chain. 

upon them by returning similar treatment. It 
leads us rather to pity their weakness, and wish 
them well. 

Charity cannot encourage anger or harbor re- 
venge. It retires from scenes of strife, and only 
defends itself when absolute necessity requires it. 
If we possess true Christian charity, (and that is 
the only kind of charity which, in the sight of 
God, is of any value,) we shall not delight to 
speak injuriously of those who have done us an 
unkindness, or bear toward us ill-will : we shall 
have the spirit and temper of Him " who, when 
he was reviled, reviled not again : when he suf- 
fered, threatened not; but committed himself to 
Him that judgeth righteously/ [ When we are 
reproached and wronged, we should bring to 
mind our Saviour, and remember that our re- 
proaches fell upon him : that he endured them 
for our sakes. We ought, therefore, to be willing 
to bear reproach for his sake. He was guileless 
and innocent, and therefore deserved not the hard 
treatment which he met with. We, in too many 
instances, merit the trials and sufferings which 



CHARITY. 175 

befall us : if not from man, yet from God, through 
man, for our unfaithfulness to him. 

All those revilements which fall upon us for 
our profession's sake, constitute a part of that 
moral discipline which is intended to render us 
serviceable to the cause of Christ here, and pre- 
pare us for association with the purified saints of 
heaven. Charity rejoices in being counted worthy 
to suffer for Christ's sake. He whose words and 
works were full of charity says, " Ye have heard 
that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, 
Love your enemies : bless them that curse you : 
do good to them that hate you ; and pray for 
them that despitefully use you and persecute 
you/' Matt. v. 43, 44. 

The spiritual Quesnel observes, upon this pas- 
sage : " We must love our enemies in heart, in 
word, and in deed : desiring their welfare, pray- 
ing for them, speaking well of them, and assisting 
them as occasion requires. The enemies whom 
Christ enjoins us here to love, are either those 
who hate us, or those whom we do not love. A 



176 st. peter's chain. 

man certainly bears a hostile mind, when he 
therein cherishes aversion and hatred, either 
with or without cause. This one precept alone 
is a sufficient proof of the holiness of the gospel, 
and of the truth of the Christian religion. None 
but God could have imposed a yoke so contrary 
to self-love; and nothing but the supreme and 
infinite Charity could have made men love and 
practice a law so insupportable to corrupt nature. 
In vain do men flatter themselves with loving 
their enemies, if their works do not give testimony 
thereof." Again, says he, " There is nothing 
greater than to imitate God in doing good to our 
enemies. All the creatures pronounce on the 
revengeful the sentence of their condemnation, 
wrote with the rays of the sun, the drops of rain, 
and all the other natural good things, the use 
whereof God gives even to his enemies. If God 
had not loved us while we were his enemies, we 
could never have become his children ; and we 
shall cease to be so, if we cease to imitate him." 
Charity "is kind" It not only leads us to for- 
give our enemies, but to do them good ; yea, it 



hi 

ft 



CHARITY. 177 

- into its embrace the whole world. It thinks 
kindly, it Bpeak& kindly, it feels kindly, and acts 
kindly. It implies a tender regard toward the 
feelings of others, and makes us careful not to do 
any thing which will afflict or mortify the most 
humble of our race. It is ready to relieve the 
needy, to soothe the disquieted, and to strengthen 
the feeble. We find a beautiful and striking 
illustration of this characteristic of charity in the 
good Samaritan. He was not satisfied with giving 
the mangled and half-dead Jew his sympathies 
alone, but he carries to him his oil and wine, and 
pours them into his wounds j and then bears him 
away from his hard bed by the roadside to an inn, 
and never deserts him until he gets the pledge 
from the keeper that he will supply his wants, at 
the same time binding himself to pay the ex- 
penses incurred by his helpless brother. Here 
was the kindness of charity, which merits higher 
commendation than the proudest achievements 
of earth's renowned captains and statesmen. 

To pity suffering humanity, and to fly to its 
succor, belongs to the spirit of Christian charity, 



178 st. peter's chain. 

and comports with the nature of Him who is the 
personification of charity. If this kindness per- 
vaded the family-circle, there would cease to be 
jars and discords between husbands and wives : 
they would seek to abide in each other's affections, 
and to promote each other's peace of mind. 
Those words, and manners, and looks which are 
calculated to irritate and chafe, would be stu- 
diously avoided, and those only employed which 
are conciliatory and pacific. 

Charity is not only a bond of union between 
the different members of the family, but it also 
binds together members of the Church, and mem- 
bers of communities and neighborhoods. 

This kindness of charity exhibits itself not 
only toward mankind, but toward the inferior 
creatures. It creates within us a feeling of ten- 
derness for them, and a readiness to pity and re- 
lieve their sufferings. This trait of character 
finds an illustration in the life of Sir Isaac New- 
ton. Sir David Brewster says of him, "He was 
too deeply versed in the Scriptures, and too much 
imbued with their spirit, to judge harshly of other 



CHARITY. 179 

men who took different views of them from his 
own. He cherished the great principles of reli- 
gious toleration, and never scrupled to express 
his abhorrence of persecution in its mildest forms. 
Immorality and impiety he never permitted to 
pass un reproved. When Vigani told him ' a loose 
story about a nun/ he gave up his acquaintance ; 
and when Dr. Ilalley ventured to say any thing 
disrespectful of religion, he invariably checked 
him with the remark, 'I have studied these 
things : you have not.' He considered cruelty 
to brute beasts as a violation of Christian moral- 
ity; and such was his tenderness for the lower 
creation, that he could not tolerate the sports of 
hunting or shooting animals. When Mr. Con- 
duitt one day was speaking favorably of one of 
Sir Isaac's nephews, he urged it as an objection 
to him, * that he loved killing of birds.' " 

Charity li envieth not" Envy is that passion 
which causes one to be dissatisfied with his situa- 
tion in life, because he imagines it to be inferior 
to that of some others. There are those who 
envy the standing, the learning, the eloquence, 



180 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



the beauty, and the wealth of others. This feel- 
ing engenders discontent tinder the allotments 
of Providence, and is opposed to that scripture 
which teaches us to "be content with such things 
as we have." Envy frequently occasions great 
unhappiness : 

"Base envy withers at another's joy, 
And hates that excellence it cannot reach." 



No age or class is exempt from this infirmity, 
and there is no cure for it but in possessing 
that charity which " envieth not." No matter 
what its position in the world may be, it is in 
harmony with God. It desires no place but that 
which his wisdom and goodness assign it. 

Charity " is not puffed up : vaunteth not it- 
self" There is no reason in pride; for "what 
have we that we have not received ?" and what 
have we that we must not give up ? Who, then, 
among all the sons of earth, "hath whereof to 
boast?" Did Adam, in Paradise, possessed of 
innocence, wisdom, majesty, and beauty, have 
any ground for pride or boasting? None; for 



11 A 11 IT Y. 181 

what he 1 was derived from Him who 

had called him into being. Well may the Scrip- 
ture Bay, "If any man glory, let him glory in the 
Lord." 

The beauty of the form or countenance, like 
the beauty of the flower, is evanescent : time, 
disease, and death will cause it to disappear. 
Honors of the world are as uncertain as life, and as 
fickle as the minds of those from whom they are 
derived. They will soon have to be turned over 
to a successor, or put off at the grave. Riches, 
who gave them ? who controls them ? who can 
take them away? God. Weak indeed, then, is 
he who can vaunt himself in his riches. As well 
may the eagle boast of his strength of wing : the 
lion boast of his power; or the sun boast of its 
brightness. Neither has a man the right to glory 
in his talents; for these are the gifts of God, and 
may at any time, by his will, be weakened or de- 
stroyed. " For who maketh thee to differ from 
another ? and what hast thou that thou didst not 
receive ? Now, if thou didst receive it, why 
dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it J" 
16 



182 st. peter's chain. 

Charity, with all its possessions, is humble. All 
of earth's glories cannot innate it with pride, or 
tempt it to boast. What it has, it holds in 
trust, as from the Lord, and rejoices alone in 
Him. 

Charity H doth not heliave itself unseemly" 
It does nothing incompatible with Christian pro- 
priety. Its deportment, its words, its spirit, are 
Christ-like. It seeks in all things to follow his 
example, and to obtain his approval. 

"Seeketh not her own" Selfishness is the 
sin of most men. They wish to monopolize the 
riches and honors of the world to themselves. 
Each is striving for the mastery. Selfishness 
lies at the foundation of all the strife and conten- 
tion of the world. It mars the peace of families, 
of churches, of neighborhoods, and embroils na- 
tions in war. How lovely is that charity which 
removes this element of evil from the heart, and 
draws it out in affection and labors for others ! 
What an unselfish life was that of our Saviour ! 
i( Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he 



C II A R I T Y. 183 

became poor, that ye through his poverty might 

rich." l >au l sa )' s > "Let every one of us 
please his neighbor for his good to edification. 
For even Christ pleased not himself; but as it is 
written, The reproaches of them that reproached 
thee fell on me/' Here was charity which has 
brought salvation to the world, and opened 
heaven to all who will enter. Those who have 
drunk the most largely into the spirit of Christ 
have been the most devoted to the work of doing- 
good to others. The more they have known of 
him, the more they have imitated him. The 
Church has furnished many bright examples of 
this charity, which has employed itself in pro- 
moting the cause of virtue and the happiness of 
mankind. 

" The island of Rona is a small and very rocky 
spot of land, lying between the Isle Syke and 
the mainland of Applecross, and it is well 
known to mariners by the rugged and dangerous 
nature of its coasts. There is a famous place of 
refuge in its south-western extremity, called the 
< Muckle Harbor;' of very difficult access, how- 



184 st. peter's chain. 

ever, which, strange to say, is easier entered by 
night than by day. At the extremity of this 
hyperborean solitude is the residence of a poor 
widow, whose lonely cottage is called the light- 
house, from the fact that she uniformly keeps 
her lamp burning in her little window at night. 
By keeping this light, and the entrance of the 
harbor open, a strange vessel may enter with the 
greatest safety. 

" During the silent watches of the night, the 
widow may be seen, like Norma of the Fitful 
Head, trimming her little lamp with oil, fearful 
that some frail bark may perish through her neg- 
lect; and for this she receives no manner of 
remuneration : it is pure and unmingled philan- 
thropy. The poor woman's kindness does not 
even rest here; for she is unhappy until the 
benumbed and shivering mariner comes ashore to 
share her little board, and recruit himself at her 
glowing and cheerful fire ; and she can seldom be 
prevailed upon to accept any reward. She has 
saved more lives than Davy's lamp, and thousands 
of pounds to the underwriters. The poor crea- 



II A II I T Y. 185 

tuiv, in her younger days, witnessed her husband 
Struggling with and swallowed up by the billows, 

1 In Bight of homo, and friends that thronged to save* 

This circumstance seems to have prompted her 
present devoted and solitary life, in which her 
only enjoyment is doing good." 

that we had more of that charity which 
would make us delight to minister unto others 
more than to be ministered unto ! 

Charity " tliinketh no evil" It does not judge 
harshly of others, or devise plans for undermin- 
ing their reputation. It is slow to suspect or to 
criminate the motives even of its enemies. "It 
delights to speak well and think well of others : 
it says little or nothing, except when necessity 
compels it, of their bad actions. It imputes not 
evil so long as good is probable : it makes every 
allowance that truth will permit : suffers not its 
opinions to be formed till it has had opportunity 
to escape from the mists of passion." 

"Rejoiceth not in iniquity } out rejoicetk in the 
truth" It has no evil deeds, that it should 
16* 



186 st. peter's chain. 

shun the light. When it sees iniquity abound- 
ing, ungodliness flourishing, it is pierced with 
sorrow, and its eye is rilled with tears. But when 
truth — divine truth — prevails over error, forcing 
its enemies to do it homage, and to help on its tri- 
umphs, then the voice of charity is heard rejoicing. 
"Bcareih all things — endureth all things" 
He whose heart is the home of this charity does 
not " return evil for evil, but contrariwise bless- 
ing." Is he the subject of censorious remarks? 
does the tongue of slander seek to blur and blast 
his good name ? he bears it all, and looks up to 
Him who has said, "I will never leave thee nor 
forsake thee." He acts on the principle of suf- 
fering wrong rather than doing wrong. This 
characteristic of charity was prominently mani- 
fested in the life of our Saviour, and has marked 
the lives of the pious of all ages. Those who 
have been willing, for Christ's sake, to " endure 
the great fight of affliction/' from Stephen, the 
proto-martyr, down to the last one upon whom 
the rod of persecution has fallen, possess this 
charity which " beareth all things and endureth 



G H A II l T V. 187 

all things. 11 "I love poverty/' says Pascal, 
"btt hrist loved it. I love wealth, 

it livos the means of assisting the 
wretched. I render no evil to those who have 
evil to me ; but I wish them a condition 
similar to my own, in which they would not re- 
from the greater portion of men either good 
or evil. "Whether I am alone or in the sight of 
men, I have before me, in all my actions, the 
view of God, who will judge them, and to whom 
I have consecrated them all. These are my 
feelings; and I bless my Redeemer every day of 
my life, who has plauted them in me, and who, 
from a man full of weakness, misery, lust, pride, 
and ambition, has formed one victorious over 
these evils, by the power of that grace to which 
I owe every thing, since in myself there is nothing 
but fear and misery." 

il B >ll things — hopeth all things " "Is 

ever ready to believe/' says Dr. Clarke, "the 
Lest of every person, and will credit no evil of 
any, but on the most positive evidence : gladly 
receives whatever may tend to the advantage of 



188 st. peter's chain. 

any person whose character may have suffered 
from obloquy and detraction; or even justly, 
because of his misconduct." u When there is 
no place left for believing good of a person, then 
love comes in with its hope, where it could 
not work by its faith ; and begins immediately 
to make allowances and excuses, as far as a good 
conscience can permit; and further, anticipates 
the repentance of the transgressor, and his restor- 
ation to the good opinion of society, and his place 
in the Church of God, from which he had fallen." 
Such is the nature of charity. Without it, 
the apostle teaches us, all other acquirements 
are empty and vain. " Though I speak with 
the tongues of men and of angels, and have 
not charity, I am become as sounding brass or 
a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the 
gift of prophecy, and understand all myster- 
ies and all knowledge ; and though I have all 
faith, so that I could - remove mountains, and 
have not charity, I am nothing. And though I 
bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though 
I give my body to be burned, and have not 



C B A R I I v. 189 

charity, it profiteth me nothing Vml 

DOW abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, 
but the greatest of these is charity." 

Charity lies at the foundation of all the great 
moral enterprises of the world. It has opened 
the hearts and purses of Christians to send the 
gospel, with its "good news and glad tidin 
to the perishing heathen. It has awakened such 
an interest in the hearts of the missionaries for 
this benighted portion of mankind, that they 
willingly yield up the comforts, the refinements, 
aud the associations of a religious and civilized 
land, to consecrate their lives to the business of 
preaching to them Christ, and in turning them 
away from the worship of dumb idols, to the 
worship of the one living and true God. 

This charity, in the person of a Carey, a Mar- 
tyn, a Buchanan, a Judson, an Eliot, a Williams, 
a Morrison, and hundreds of others, h 
forth to claim " the heathen for Christ's inherit- 
ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his 
ssion." It kindled in the heart of Paul u 
zeal for the conversion of the world, which made 



190 st. peter's chain. 

him cry out, "I am a debtor both to the .Greek 
and to the barbarian, both to the wise and to the 
unwise." It prompted the mighty labors of Lu- 
ther, Wesley, and Whitefield. It led Bishop Coke 
to wish he had the voice of a trumpet and the 
wings of an eagle, that he might preach the gos- 
pel to the whole world. It was this that caused 
him to give himself and a large sum of money 
toward carrying out a projected mission to British 
India. This charity sent John Howard through 
the dark prisons of Europe, to carry health and 
comfort to those burdened beneath the weight of 
guilt and chains. It conducted him to the inhos- 
pitable regions of Russia, where he sacrificed his 
life in seeking to mitigate the sorrows and cure the 
diseases of others. It influenced Robert Raikes in 
his Sabbath-school enterprise, which has proved so 
great a blessing to the world. It has, in no small 
degree, added to the glory and prosperity of our 
own mighty republic, in creating in the minds of 
our youth a reverence for the word of God, for 
the Sabbath, and the services of the sanctuary. 
Chief Justice Marshall, in reference to the 



C ii A B i I v. 101 

American Sunday-school Union, remarks. u 1 km 
much, very much gratified at the BmcceBS which 
baa thus far attended its philanthropic, merits 

orious, and well-directed efforts. " Judge Wash* 
ington says that this, "of all the institutions in 
the country, most deserves the name of charita- 
ble, because exerting a moral influence that will 
regenerate the world." Judge M'Lean, after 
speaking much in the praise of Sunday-schools, 
adds : " They are the nurseries of virtue, of an 
elevated patriotism, and of religion." 

These institutions of Christianity have been 
established by missionaries in the midst of pagan- 
ism, and are exerting a reformatory power upon 
the morals of the people, astonishing to all who 
have witnessed it. Glance your eye over the 
Sandwich Islands, once the habitation of every 
species of cruelty. There idolatry drenched its 
altars, and bathed the feet of monstrous gods 
with human blood. Behold the mighty oh; 
under the teachings of the gospel. "All over 
the islands," says the Rev. Mr. Djright, "thfi 
Sabbath is remarkable for its stillness. I, 



192 st. peter's chain. 

congregations assemble for religious instruction 
in every district. Children are everywhere ga- 
thered into Sabbath-schools. Adults are associ- 
ated in Bible-classes. Daily morning prayer- 
meetings, and weekly or semi-weekly lectures and 
conferences, are attended in most of the churches. 
Most of the children of the nation, and most of 
the members of the churches, commit one verse 
of the Bible every day. Thousands ask the bless- 
ing of God on their daily food : as many ob- 
serve morning and evening worship. If able, all 
members of churches give something for the sup- 
port of the gospel; while, at different time#, 
several religious associations are remembered in 
their prayers and benefactions." After stating 
that they had formed a native missionary society, 
and sent out native missionaries to some of the 
surrounding islands, he remarks : "According to 
their ability and numbers, it may be safely said 
that the Sandwich Island churches are giving 
more to benevolent purposes than any other body 
of Christians on the globe." Such are some of 
the glorious fruits of charity ! 



C H A K 1 I V. 

Charity is over devising Behemes for the good 
of mankind, The l>iblc cause, the Tract cause, 

the Temperance cause, have originated in thifl 
charity. It builds our hospitals, asylums, and 
temples of worship. It will never cease to dis- 
pense its blessings while there is nakeducss to 
clothe, hunger to satisfy, and souls to save. This 
is the crowning grace that gives completeness to 
the Christian character. Without charity, Chris- 
tianity has no vitality, no self-perpetuation ; but 
with it, it is irresistible, and nothing can hinder 
its universal triumph. If all the followers of 
Christ possessed a full measure of holy love, how 
soon would fraud, dissensions, war, and bloodshed 
cease, and how soon would every tongue, and 
kindred, and people of the earth rejoice in the 
sound of the gospel ! 

" Who ever lost by loving? 

Though all our heart we pour, 
Still other spirits moving, 

To pay our love with more. 
And was there ever blessing 

That did not turn and rest, — 
A double power pot 

The blessing being blesa 
17 



194: st. peter's chain. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CONCLUSION. 

The conditions of an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ — The character of this kingdom 
dwelt upon at large — Concluding address to the reader — The 
pilgrim. 

Dear reader, you have not gotten into heaven 
yet. You are still in the wilderness, surrounded 
by dangerous enemies, which you must overcome 
before you go over and possess the promised land. 
" For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." 
What things? If you "add to your faith vir- 
tue," knowledge, temperance, godliness, bro- 
therly kindness, charity. The apostle teaches us 
that "he that lacketh these things is blind and 
cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he 
was purged from his old sins." 

We observe the importance of keeping these 



C0NCLUS1 O \. 196 

li ifl not enough to add oaa fco the other, 
bat to lee, in order to the retailing of them, that 
each one is improved and strengthened. We 
must guard against a relapse into sin. Our apofltle 
is doing this ; that is, urging Christians to a growth 
in grace, in order to secure them against spirit- 
ual loss. We must not imagine that when once 
a person is converted, his salvation is placed be- 
yond all contingency. This is calculated to 
induce spiritual indolence, and to remove from 
the soul that fear of sin which acts as a stimulus 
to religious watchfulness, activity, and prayer. 
To see the danger of falling away from God, you 
have but to consult carefully your Bibles. Read 
Ezekiel xviii. 24, 26 : " But when the righteous 
turneth away from his righteousness, and com- 
mitteth iniquity, and doeth according to all the 
abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall 
he live ? All his righteousness that he hath 
done shall not be mentioned: in his tn 
that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that lie 
hath sinned, in them shall he die. ,; M Wh< 
righteous man turneth away from his right 




196 st. peter's chain. 

ness* and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them ; 
for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." 
How plain and intelligible is this language of 
the prophet ! He shows us that a righteous man 
may lose the savor of grace, fall into sin, and 
die without the favor of God. 

2 Peter ii. 20 : " For if, after they have 
escaped the pollutions of the world through the 
knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
they are again entangled therein and overcome, 
the latter end is worse with them than the begin- 
ning." Here we read of those who have escaped 
the pollutions of the world. What meaning do 
we attach to the word escape ? It signifies, to 
flee from, avoid, to get out of the way, to shun, 
to obtain security from danger. The one who 
has escaped the pollutions of the world is one 

* Some construe this righteousness as the man's own 
righteousness, and say he can turn away from this, 
and not from the righteousness of God. There is so 
much absurdity involved in this subterfuge that we will 
not dwell upon it ; only remark that self- righteousness 
is sin, and no man can be condemned for turning away 
from it. It was condemned in the Pharisees. 



C N OLU0ION. 1 *>T 

who has been converted, cleansed from sin. The 
means of the escape is 4k through the knowl< 
of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ/' Now 
Peter teaches us that it is possible for such to be 
u entangled again" in the world : to get back into 
its pollutions, and that the " latter end is worse 
with them than the beginning/' " For it had 
been better for them not to have known the way 
of righteousness, than after they have known it 
to turn from the holy commandment delivered 
unto them. But it is happened unto them ac- 
cording to the true proverb : the dog is turned 
to his own vomit again ; and the sow that was 
washed to her wallowing in the mire." If there 
is no danger of Christians going back into the 
world, why are the Scriptures so full of warnings 
against sin ? why so many encouragements to 
perseverance in well-doing? The wrath and 
mercy of God are both employed to induce 
Christians to eschew evil and to cleave to that 
which is good. "Be thou faithful unto death, 
and I will give thee a crown of life." U U any 
man draw back, my soul shall hay* DO pleasure 



198 st. peter's chain. 

in hirn." "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise 
being left us of entering into his rest, any of you 
should seem to come short of it." These scrip- 
tures are not without meaning; and yet, if there 
is no danger of apostasy, they are without mean- 
ing: God is made to utter false alarms. But, 
reader, you are not prepared to say this. You 
know too much of the treachery of your own 
nature to be insensible to those dangerous influ- 
ences which surround you and are constantly 
seeking to destroy your confidence in God, and 
to draw you away from his service. The only 
security against the loss of heaven is in follow- 
ing the injunction of Peter : u Give diligence 
to make your calling and election sure j for if ye 
do these things, ye shall never fall; for so an 
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly 
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ." The possession and culti- 
vation of these graces, which have been dwelt 
upon in the preceding chapters of this book, con- 
stitute you a subject of the kingdom of grace 
here. If you are faithful in this kingdom, you 



C N c L r B l n • 199 

shall be introdaoed by and by into ihc kingdom 
glory. This latter kingdom lei na For a 
moment gratefully contemplate. "Let Jerusa- 
lem come into your mind." 

This kingdom is cur of purity. None can 
enter it but the upright in heart. u Blessed are 
the pure in heart, for they shall see God," are 
the words of Him who reigns in that kingdom. 
John, who was permitted from the Isle of Pat- 
mos to behold the King in his glory, and to sur- 
the worshippers about his throne, informs us 
that that throne upon which the King is seated 
is a white throne, aud that the worshippers are 
robed in white, which color is emblematic of 
purity. He sometimes speaks of the inhabitants 
of heaven being clothed in fine linen, white and 
clean ; and says that the fine linen is the right- 
eousness of the saints. He describes a com- 
pany of heaven, which had attracted his atten- 
tion, as having " washed their robes and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb." All 
his revelations of heaven and its inhabitants goto 
impress upon our minds that it is the abode of 



200 st. peter's chain. 

purity, and that nothing that defileth can enter 
there. " Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord." These words will not find favor with 
those who love the low pleasures of sense, and 
abide in the filthiness of the flesh. But the true 
Christian would not have them stricken from the 
Bible. He desires to reach that place where sin 
shall no more be known : where he can no more 
be assailed by Satan, or led astray by the influ- 
ence of the wicked; and where the desire to 
disobey God will cease to exist: where no un- 
faithfulness or sluggishness in duty, and no for- 
getfulness of God, can ever take place. 

This kingdom is one of love. This earth is a 
scene of contention and feud. Its honors, its 
riches, its pleasures, are eagerly sought and 
fiercely contended for. Hence we find among 
their votaries the spirit of jealousy, envy, and 
strife. They, in seeking to get the advantage of 
each other, jostle against each other, quarrel 
with each other, and sometimes war upon and 
kill each other. But in heaven such scenes of 
contention will be unknown. All the malign 



00 N C I. i SI N . 201 

•ns will have boon destroyed, and a purr 

and holy lovo will lill the soul. The saints will 
be amazed at the grace by which they have 
boou saved and put in possession of such an 
inheritance. They will dwell in the presence of 
Him who is love itself, and will be ever drinking 
into the same spirit. 

It is a kingdom of delightful and hallowed 
associations. The good of earth will there be 
congregated. Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob; Job, Moses, and Joshua; Isaiah, with his 
brother prophets; the long line of those who 
have witnessed for Christ — apostles, martyrs, and 
confessors — will make up the inhabitants of that 
kingdom. Those of whom the apostle speaks in 
Hebrews xi., when he says, " Of whom the world 
was not worthy/' will be there. The faithful 
missionaries who have died preaching the gospel 
of Christ to the benighted heathen, will swell that 
throng. Indeed, not a servant of Cod, however 
long since he passed from earth to heaven, and 
however obscure the place where he lived or 
died, will be excluded from that association. The 



202 st. peter's chain. 

word of God presents heaven under the idea of 
social relations. "I beheld," says John, "and 
lo ! a great multitude, which no man could num- 
ber, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the 
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in 
their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, 
Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb." 

And you, if a sincere and faithful follower of 
Christ till death, will be united to this rejoicing 
multitude. Have you not already many dear 
friends who have joined them — friends who loved 
the Saviour, and left the world with a strong and 
triumphant faith, saying, " Meet me in heaven V 
You, perhaps, said, "I will try .and meet you." 
It may be that some of your loved ones have died 
away from you, and you have felt sad, because 
you could no more meet them here ; yet you have 
comforted yourself with the prospect of reunion 
with them in that blissful region where the word 
farewell is never heard, and " separations ne'er 
take place." You, then, will not only associate 



c o \ c 1. 1 si o n. 208 

with those of your friends who have died in the 

Lord, not only with patriarchs, prophets, and 

ties, but with those bright and Bpotlesa ang< h 

who have kept their first estate. Is not the com- 
pany an inviting one ? Yea, a glorious one ! ( '(in- 
sider, moreover, that it shall be erowned with the 
presence of Christ, who is " the chiefest among ten 
thousand, and altogether lovely ;" " the bright 
and morning star;" "the Sun of righteousness." 
The pious Baxter says : " The expectations of 
loving my friends in heaven principally kindles 
my love to them on earth. If I thought I should 
never know them, and, consequently, never love 
them, after this life is ended, I should number 
them with temporal things, and only love them 
as such. But I now delightfully converse with 
my godly friends, in a firm persuasion that I 
shall converse with them for ever; and I take 
comfort in those who are dead or absent, as be- 
lieving I shall shortly meet them in heaven ; 
and I love them with a heavenly love, M the 
heirs of heaven ; even with a love that shall 
there be perfected and for ever exercised. " 



204 st. peter's chain. 

That kingdom will be one of superior know- 
ledge. Here we are surrounded by ignorance and 
darkness. We "see through a glass darkly. 1 ' 
Perhaps it may be said that we know nothing in 
this life perfectly. The boasted " wisdom of this 
world is foolishness with God." That which men 
call wisdom is, in the sight of God, worse than 
nonsense. It is full of pride and sin, and leads 
from heaven rather than to heaven. The know- 
ledge of Christians, even in those things which 
are matters of faith, is extremely meagre. How 
little do they know of their own hearts, their at- 
tainments in grace, the full measure of duty, the 
obligations they are under to God, the cause of 
their creation, preservation, and redemption, and 
of the operations and designs of Providence in their 
prosperity and affliction ! ! how will doubts be 
scattered, obscurities cleared up, mysteries unrav- 
elled, in that blessed kingdom of Christ ! 

They who " see through a glass darkly" here, 
will then see face to face, and they who know in 
part, then will know even as they are known. 
The dark pages in life's troubled history will then 



M L r s [OK. 

be illuminated and fully understood. Trials and 
temptations will then bo seen as haying entered into 

that moral discipline which worked for our good. 
We shall not obtain knowledge by those tedious 
and painful processes of reasoning which belong 
to this state of being; but glorious truths will be 
revealed to our astonished and delighted minds. 
The knowledge received will but heighten the 
bliss of the recipients. 

This kingdom is one of delightful employ- 
'. No intelligent Christian can for a moment 
believe that a state of inaction will exist in 
heaven. Archbishop Whateley well remarks, 
M That the blest in heaven shall be in some way 
actively employed in fulfilling God's will, and 
promoting the happiness of each other; and that 
their happiness and knowledge of God's glorious 
works shall be continually advancing, seems as 
reasonable a hope, as it must be, to a right- 
minded Christian, a fervent wish : a hop 
well founded as it is cheering and delightful." 
The Scriptures give us reason to believe that the 
glorified saints of heaven are ever employed in 
IS 



206 



st. peter's chain. 



the service of God, and that they find pleasure in 
this service. Such is the nature of that employ- 
ment, and their adaptation to it, that they can 
never know languor nor weariness. The very 
name of the inhabitants of heaven implies activ- 
ity, for they are called angels, which signifies 
messengers. We know how often, in the word 
of God, they are spoken of as bearing messages 
from God to his creatures on earth. They are 
also spoken of as " ministering spirits." 

To specify all the particulars connected with their 
employment would be impossible. The acquisi- 
tion of knowledge — knowledge of God's charac- 
ter, his providence, his stupendous works — will 
doubtless constitute a part of that employment. 
Again, the glorious system of redemption, dis- 
playing the love of God, through Christ, toward 
our fallen race, will engage their earnest atten- 
tion. Peter tells us that they desire to look into 
this great mystery. One part of that delightful 
employment will be in praising the triune God. 
There will be music, in heaven. There is some- 
thing so pleasing in the concord of sweet sounds, 



00 N 0I&U8ION. 207 

that all creatures seem to enjoy it. All nature 

is full of music. The Scriptures are foil of it. 
They tell Ufl the mountains siogj the valleys MDgj 
the trees of the wood sing; the birds of the air 
pour their varied strains of melody into the ear 
of Him who feeds them. 

u Sing praises to God, sing praises/' says the 
Psalmist: "sing praises unto our King, sing 
praises." And the apostle says, Col. iii. 1G, 
" Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in 
all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one an- 
other in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, 
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 
And the saints on earth delight to do this. It is 
meet that they should praise Him who is the 
fountain of all their blessings and joys. The 
rabbies tell us that the Jews, after the feast of 
the Passover was celebrated, sang the one hundred 
and thirteenth psalm, and the five following. Mat- 
thew tells us, that immediately after the Saviour 
had partaken of the blessed Supper with his 
disciples, they "sang an hymn." If the saints 
of God on earth, amid so many depressing trials, 



208 st. peter's chain. 

find pleasure in chanting his praises, do you not 
think that, when free from earth, they will 
praise God with a gladder, louder, and happier 
strain? " The morning stars sang together" 
over this new-made earth. The heavenly host 
caused the plains of Judea to ring with music, 
when our Immanuel appeared in Bethlehem. 
Those same "morning stars/' and the heavenly 
host which heralded by song the Saviour's advent, 
have had added to their number millions of sing- 
ing, praising saints. "And a voice came out of 
the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his ser- 
vants, and ye that fear him, both small and 
great. And I heard as it were the voice of a 
great multitude, and as the voice of many wa- 
ters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, 
saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent 
reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give 
honor to him ) for the marriage of the Lamb is 
come, and his wife hath made herself ready." 
There is a song which John heard, peculiar to 
the redeemed : "And I heard from heaven, as 
the voice of many waters, as the voice of great 



CONCLUSION. 209 

thunder ; and I heard the voice of harpers, harp- 
ing with their harps. And they sang as it were 
a new song before the throne, and before the four 
beasts, and the elders ; and no man could learn 
that song but the hundred and forty and four 
thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." 
Reader, shall we be permitted to swell the sym- 
phonies of that multitude in the kingdom of 
Christ ? 

Lastly, the kingdom of Christ is one of 7'est. 
The employment of which we have been speak- 
ing will not interfere with this rest. The em- 
ployment itself will be rest, refreshing the soul 
and filling it with joy. There is something 
sweet in the word rest. How gladly does the 
husbandman, after the toils and sweat of a long 
summer's day, look forward to the night as a sea- 
son of rest, when he can lay down his weary 
limbs upon his bed, and give himself to balmy 
slumber ! How sweet is the thought of return- 
ing peace to the soldier, after months of hard 
fighting and heavy marching, when he can return 
to the rest of a quiet home ! How does the heart 
18* 



210 st. peter's chain. 

of the long-tossed and storm-beaten mariner re- 
joice when he enters the harbor where he is 
accustomed to meet the greetings of his friends ! 
How does the traveller, worn down with thirst 
and travel over the bald and dusty desert, shout 
for joy, when he spies some cooling shade and 
stream at hand ! So heaven will be hailed as a 
blessed rest by that Christian laborer who has 
borne the burden and heat of the day in cultivat- 
ing the vineyard of his Master. The Christian 
soldier will rejoice when, entering heaven, he 
feels that the last battle is fought, and the last 
enemy is conquered. The Christian mariner, 
whose bark has been riding upon troubled seas, 
will shout in triumph when he anchors in the 
port of the celestial city. The Christian pilgrim, 
with staff in hand, toiling through the arid desert 
of life, amid doubts, and fears, and joys, will 
forget the past, when he finds himself reposing 
beneath the shade, and plucking the fruits of the 
tree of life. That kingdom is the kingdom of 
rest. " There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the 
people of God." 



C N L i B ion. -11 

This kingdom is a perpetual one. Barthly 
kingdoms are of uncertain duration : b thousand 
destructive elements are at work in them, and 
they are ever changing and passing away. ]Jut 
Christ'-e kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. "It 
hath foundations," which nothing can Undermine 
or destroy. Beyond the reach of the devouring 
sword or consuming fire, no wasting pestilence or 
gaunt famine can reach its inhabitants ; for there 
shall be no more curse, for the former things are 
passed away. The perpetuity of this kingdom, 
with all its holy delights, makes it peculiarly at- 
tractive. One of the chief hindrances to our 
earthly happiness lies in the unsubstantial aud 
evanescent nature of those objects which engage 
our affections. " Kiches make to themselves 
wings, and fly away." They are called "uncer- 
tain riches." Our friends, "the partners of our 
blood/ ' are ever disappearing from our sight. The 
honors and entertainments of the world cheat us 
as oft as we look to them for enjoyment. 1 > it t 
in the kingdom of our Saviour we shall come into 
the possession of blessings which shall never 



212 



ST. PETER S CHAIN. 



cloy, and never cease. It is an " inheritance 
incorruptible, undefilcd, and that fadeth not 
away." " Therefore are they before the throne 
of God, and serve him day and night in his tem- 
ple ; and he that sitteth upon the throne shall 
dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun 
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, 
which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains 
of waters; and God shall wipe all tears from 
their eyes." 

Such is the nature of Christ's kingdom. It 
is exempt from every evil. " There shall be no 
more curse." 

"Pure are the joys above the sky, 
And all the region peace : 
No wanton lip, nor envious eye, 
Can see or taste the bliss. 

" Those holy gates for ever bar 
Pollution, sin, and shame : 
None shall obtain admittance there 
But followers of the Lamb." 

Into this kingdom, "the everlasting kingdom 



CONCLUSION. 218 

of our Lord and Saviour Jesufl Christ/' we may, 

it' diligent to make our calling and election sure, 
by cultivating a scriptural piety, have an '"'abun- 
dant entrance f "for so an entrance shall be 
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlast- 
ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." Dr. Adam Clarke finds an allusion here 
to the military triumphs among the Romans. 
Great honor was conferred upon a general when 
he gained an important victory over the enemy 
of his country, or conquered a province. On 
such occasions, the conqueror entered the city 
clad in a rich purple robe, interwoven with gold 
figures, setting forth his achievements. Upon 
his head was a crown of pure gold, and in his 
hand a branch of laurel, the emblem of victory. 
He was borne in a chariot adorned with ivory 
and gold, and usually drawn by two white horses. 
A long procession, led by musicians playing 
triumphal pieces in praise of the general, went 
before. These were followed by young men, 
leading the victims for sacrifice. Then came 
vehicles, loaded with the spoils taken in battle, 



214 st. peter's chain. 

with their horses and chariots. Then followed 
the kings, and princes, and generals who had been 
conquered in war; and lastly came the triumphal 
chariot, before which, as it passed, the people 
strewed flowers, and shouted lo triumphe ! Of 
course the Christian's entrance into heaven will 
not be attended by circumstances which charac- 
terize the triumphs of military chieftains, yet, if 
he is faithful, he will have a triumphal entrance. 
He will, in death, see all his enemies put 
under his feet, and, with the song of the victor, 
he can shout, u death, where is thy sting ? 
grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks be to God, 
who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Je- 
sus Christ/' Palms of victory will be given him, 
and "a crown of life" placed upon his head. 
The angels of God will escort him into the city, 
and the King will meet him and say, "Well 
done, good and faithful servant : enter thou into 
the joy of thy Lord." 

0, how many of God's saints have quit the 
world in the full hope of heaven; yea, with 
heaven opening before them, with all its bright- 



0ONOL1 si o N. 215 

and glory ! The Bong o( victory has often 
been hoard bursting from the lips of dying pil- 
grims, as they have escaped the wilderness of 
earth, and passed over the Jordan of death, and 
entered into the upper Canaan, to be for ever 
with Christ and his glorified saints. 

Pear reader, now, as we part, let us examine 
ourselves u whether we be in the faith," and arc 
adding to this faith virtue, knowledge, temper- 
ance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and 
charity. We are yet on our pilgrimage, and can- 
not tell how long it may continue; yet, be it 
short or long, we maybe confident that it will end 
with an abundant entrance " into the kingdom 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ/' if we 
obey the word of God. " Dearly beloved/' says 
Peter, "I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, 
abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the 
soul." Let us be like those holy worthies spoken 
of by Paul, Heb. xi., who "confessed that they 
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth ;" who 
" desired a better country, that is an heavenly : 
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 



216 st. peter's chain. 

their God; for lie hath prepared for them a 
city." 

" Now unto him that is able to keep you from 
falling, and to present you faultless before the 
presence of his glory, with exceeding joy : to the 
only wise God our Saviour, be glory and ma- 
jesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. 
Amen/' 



THE END. 



Lfb 



